Angel of Darkness and Ice
by obsidian dreamer
Summary: Seven years ago, my path was decided for me. The grudge was made and etched in my soul. I will settle it now without pity or remorse for seven years ago, my life ended(this ain't Shadow talkin). Mostly action some little Knuxrouge and Sonamy. Rated fo
1. Default Chapter

**Angel of Darkness and Ice.**

Legal disclaimer and standard stuff: I don't know who owns Sonic and the other major Sonic characters, but it isn't me. Just to make a few things clear:

"---" – Speech.

_Italics_ – Thoughts.

**Bold **- ? (read the story to find out!")

Hope you enjoy it, now on with the show!

Prologue.

The musical clink of glass tapping on glass split the quiet atmosphere of the moderate sized apartment in Station Square. There, again, the same note of industry as, in the kitchen of the living area, a figure tottered unsteadily on a kitchen chair, reaching for something on the top of the wooden cupboards. After a short series of stretching, quiet cajoling and one or two low expletives the mouse hissed in triumph, short tail swishing in exultation as it carefully lowered its prize, a green bottle full of quietly sloshing liquid, to eye level. A gloved hand wiped the label at the same time a hasty puff of air displaced the dust that had settled as a result of the bottle's long residency on top of the cupboards. A sly smile crept onto a handsome, furred face,

"Ah, knew you were up there somewhere. Old Moby, best red of the decade". The voice itself spoke about its owner; quiet and speculative but conveying the capability of great warmth and love. The apartment owner quickly rinsed the rest of the dust from the wine bottle under the tap. A quiet hum competed with running water for monopoly of the apartment's sound environment as the preparations neared completion. Having put the wine to chill in the fridge, the field mouse turned round and moved off to her bedroom to get ready. According to her clock, she had about two hours.

_Not bad for pushing forty, girl_, the field mouse commented as she drew the hairbrush through her, fighting to tame the unruly bushel. Jessie Wheatear sighed; she'd known from the second she'd hit her teens that she'd got her mother's hair – a completely disordered, light brown rug that dropped over her pretty, sky blue eyes at every opportunity. Still, she reflected, not that it'll matter all that much tonight, her visitor may have been many things, but a follower of fashion was never one of them. She chuckled, again almost failing to believe it had been nearly seven years since they'd last met. It seemed like only last week that he'd walked into the base and wondered why everyone else had collapsed into hysterics. _That's a thought_, a mischievous glint lit up her eyes like it belonged there, _I wonder if I've still got that photo. A Mohawk, of all things._ Satisfied that was as good as her hair was ever going to get, the mouse took a step back and examined the rest of herself.

People had often commented that Jessie was a looker, and she'd always agreed with them. Not particularly tall or curvy, hers was a subtle kind of beauty; you didn't recognise it at first, but it lodged in the memory and remained there, a continual reminder of her. Her eyes were her best feature; large and sky blue, they could enthral anyone who looked into them too deeply. Several had, she reminded herself, but none had ever been right for her. So at the grand old age of nearly forty she was still single, but it didn't really bother her; she had made lots of friends since she had arrived in Station Square a year ago, shortly after it was rebuilt following the Chaos incident. Looking at the town as it was now, she found it hard to imagine a single beast, no matter how strong, had been able to level much of it to rubble, or that the beast itself had been bested by a single hedgehog named Sonic. She'd heard stories, but as her Dad used to say, believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear. That was most certainly true, she mused as she slipped on a pair of trendy but casual black jeans and a matching T-shirt; well, most of the time anyway. A couple of hecklers had heard that Jessie was skilled in martial arts, but didn't believe it – a pinch on her rear, a spin, grab, throw combination and a quick trip to the Station Square general may have convinced them. Jessie smiled at the memory and wondered if her guest was still any good at the arts – the last thing she wanted was to get rusty and maybe he'd give her a match. The thought brought back other memories:

_Dark, this was good. Razzy had tripped the switch at the right time and she was in position to make the dash across the courtyard. Hopefully the camera wouldn't be able to see her in the darkness and she'd be able to lift the jewel and get out before the circuit breakers tripped or anyone came to investigate. In and out, back and forth, just like training. Yeah, just like training._

_She breathed, jumped up and dashed, full pelt, knowing exactly where she was heading and exactly how long it would take to get there. Dead on; she flushed with vindication as her left toe tapped the bottom of the display case and her hands reached up, aiming for the gap between glass and wood. There, she pried gently, whispering quiet words as she eased the case up. She could almost feel the gem in her hand when a steady thud-thud approached – footsteps! Split decision, run or risk it. She though for half a second then made her choice…_

Jessie shook herself as the memory ran its course; she smiled as she realised that soon, another member of the guild would be here and they'd be able swap stories until late into the night with a bottle of Old Moby and a plateful of nibbles. Speaking of which, she slipped on a pair of leathers and headed for the door, her eye falling on a picture framed on the little table in the lounge. It was a photo of all about five Mobians (Mobile Mammalian – the term the humans called her race of walking, talking creatures) of all shapes and sizes, stood close together and smiling, in their own way, for the camera. She picked herself out with ease, winking at the camera man, and her guest, hat on skewed and in a shooter's stance, pointing a pain of imaginary 'finger-guns' off to the right. He'd called that his Western stance; he was a big fan of John Wayne. She slipped out her front door, locked it and jogged at a steady pace towards the shops, aiming to buy the nibbles in good time. It was the last time she'd ever see that photo.

**She was gone. Time to move. Walk unseen, as always, through the reception area of the apartment block. The stairs were of no matter. The lock on her door was complex, but breakable. Once deactivated and locked from the inside, prepare. Close now, so very close…**

"Hey, Jess. Looking good".

"Thanks Erin; hey, got anything in paprika flavour?"

"Try aisle four", the badger shifted in her uniform, squinting at her diminutive customer/friend, "got something planned for tonight?" The mouse hefted her burden and slammed into onto the counter, smiling,

"Yeah, seeing a really old friend. Just talking about old times, having a night in, y'know the sort of thing?" Erin slouched forwards, looking a little disinterested,

"Male friend perchance?"

"Yeah, why?" In her hurry, Jessie had failed to pick up the subtle tones of fun in her friend's deeper voice.

"Oh, Wheaty's sowing some wild oats, hey?" the badger queried with a smirk. Jessie's mouth hung open in shock as she mentally kicked her tail. Shock rapidly became anger however,

"If I wasn't in such a rush I'd come round your side of the counter and slap you into next week", the mouse stormed crossly, "and no, he's a guest, something your filthy mind probably couldn't get round". The badger chuckled as she passed Jessie her shopping,

"Ah, you know I'm only kidding, and I thought you were serious I'd be out that door faster'n Sonic the Hedgehog. 'E came round here once, y'know".

"Okay, gotta go. I'll catch you tomorrow Erin". The mouse exited rapidly before Erin could move onto that old story. From what she'd heard, the famous blue blur had ducked into the supermarket to avoid some besotted fan and had hid under the counter – to here Erin tell it you'd have thought the hedgehog had opened the place. Jessie shook her head, making her customary mental note not to allow Erin to catch her out as she always did. She smiled faintly, that was probably why she liked the badger; her skill with words defied her course accent and thick speech. That's people for you, the mouse thought, can't pigeonhole them because they'll always surprise you if you do.

The key code clicked in and the front door swung open, allowing Jessie to come in and dump her shopping on the sofa. Quickly kicking her shoes off, she made to sort the shopping into different flavours when a sudden sharp noise made her pause.

**Take the bait, mouse. Just a little closer; take the bait.**

Jessie stiffened and strained her ears, the little shell-shaped organs twitching as they filtered the air. There, again, a sudden clump, very low and very quiet. She was instantly alert, every muscle primed and ready to react, senses keen and blood rushing, ready for a fight. A lot of Mobians underestimated her species; mice weren't particularly strong and lacked specific weapons such as the kick of the hare or spines of the hedgehog, but they were quick and had a prehensile tail that counted for a lot. Jessie smiled; if someone had broken in, they'd better break back out before she caught them. Moving forwards stealthily, she approached the source of the noise; her bathroom.

Quickly and quietly, the mouse crept towards the door, breath quick and light. Something was niggling at her mind, but she pushed it aside as an attack of the nerves. Should give her something to tell her soon-to-arrive guest though, she thought.

**Outside the door. Stopped tapping, made ready.**

Jessie pushed the door open suddenly and sprang forwards to see…nothing. With a sudden lurch of dread, the niggling sensation roared in full volume; she realised at the very last second that she could be walking into the perfect

**Trap.**

Even before she'd stopped moving forwards the mouse felt an arm, strong and constricting, wrap around her throat from behind. A second fist pushed into her back, forcing her forwards into the grip, cutting off her air. She panicked for a second before old reflexes kicked in. She jabbed an elbow backwards, aiming for the floating ribs of her attacker, only for her arm to hit thin air. _He's not behind me, but how…_ she thought furiously, blood surging in her ears and vision becoming tinged with red. She pinched at the flesh of the arm around her neck, trying to force her throat into the crook of the elbow to breathe. Her pinches were hard, but the arm was like iron; immovable, unfeeling and irresistible. Her vision dimmed, senses receding as she became aware of slow, heavy breathing in her right ear. She mustered everything she had left for a final pull on the arm. It moved, slightly, but far too little to matter.

Her last thought was that she'd never get to talk to her guest.

**She was out. Lowered her to the floor. She'd bruised the arm, but it was still working and still efficient. Checked her breathing – she wasn't dead. Had a use for her. Her and the others. It was quickly found; they all had one. They showed all the targets. All but one.**

A sinister silhouette, looking for all the world like a congealed shadow, materialised in the lounge of the apartment. Dressed in a tight-fitting black body suit, the figure was completely silent as it slowly, deliberately searched the room. It came upon the photo that Jessie had so recently glanced at; any emotion it may have shown was concealed behind a leather mask, fitting tightly to the wearer's head like a second, senseless skin. It picked up the photo almost delicately, moving its gloved fingers over the glass imprisoning the picture in a gentle caress.

With a barely audible click, a sixth finger appeared between the middle and ring fingers of the silent assailant's left hand. Except, it wasn't a finger; it was a short-bladed knife, so sharp it was nearly invisible end-on. This knife was a Spyder; it was a crime to be even holding one in Station Square. Small, concealable and undetectable to metal detectors, they were deadly weapons and fetched a high price on the black market. It was a mark of prestige in the underworld to own a Spyder and a mark of almost certain death to be attacked with one.

This mysterious figure couldn't have cared less; it was a tool to be used and discarded as necessary. Using the fineness of the blade, the picture was skilfully removed from the frame, then using the sharpness of the blade, it was skilfully doctored. Not showing a flicker of emotion, Jessie's attacker placed the mutilated picture on the table in plain view and deposited the off-cuts in a pocket. The blade was replaced and another, more readily identifiable tool brought forth.

**Leave the mark. Didn't want to; other targets would see and know. Had to, the law must not be broken. Quickly left the mark then took the target and opened a window. Leave quickly and with no trace. Revenge is one step closer now. Soon.**

Taking the slumped form of Jessie Wheatear over one shoulder, the shadow in flesh made for a window. Opening it, the sound of an aircycle coming to a halt at the front of the apartment reached the figure's ears. Taking a final glance round, the figure left down a preconceived escape route. It was a perfect kidnapping; no witnesses and no evidence. No, nearly perfect, one tiny scrap, left on purpose, sullied the crime. Things were about to hot up.


	2. Dreaded Discovery

Chapter 1 – Dreaded Discovery.

As one exited the building, another character immediately entered it. Unlike the featureless attacker that had spirited away Jessie Wheatear, this Mobian was almost immediately recognisable. Having parked his airbike and checked the address, Nack the Weasel looked around the lobby of the apartment complex and gave an approving nod.

To a casual observer, Nack represented something of an enigma; his age could have ranged from between early twenties to late thirties, but his wiry, whipcord build was typical of his species. His single, overlong fang gave his appearance a somewhat fierce aspect, something he had a great deal of interest in propagating. He was a hard Mobian who'd had more than his fair share of scraps in the past, but had generally walked away from them in better shape than his opponents.

For tonight though, none of that mattered. As far as he was concerned, he was here to catch up with an old friend and toast some old times. He'd come across her name in a telephone directory by sheer serendipity and, on a hunch, had rung the number. The two had talked until Nack's cell phone had run out of credit, though Jessie had invited him to her apartment for the night, on a purely friend basis, she had explained. Despite himself, the weasel smiled; he remembered Jess from his time in the guild and she was always someone you wanted as a friend rather than an enemy. Casually holding his travelling pack in one hand, he approached the reception desk, noting that the squirrel who serviced it was female, young and good-looking.

"Yes sir, may I help you?" The weasel slapped on an affable smile, despite his loathing of the word sir.

"Yeah, can ya tell me the number of the room Jessie Wheatear's stayin' in, please" he added, remembering manners in the nick of time. The squirrel frowned a little,

"Sorry sir, we aren't supposed to give our client's room numbers away". Nack swore under his breath; he aught to have expected this. He decided to resort to a charm offensive, smiling as sweetly as possible with his single fang,

"Aww, c'mon", he peered at the squirrel's name badge, keeping a straight face as he caught a peek of her bust, "Michelle-love, I haven't seen Jess for nearly seven years. Don't keep me waitin' for another coupla minutes". He looked pleadingly and smiled inside as she began to wilt.

"Well, it's against regulations…"

"Please", he said in a perfectly calculated tone, "I swear, if she don't want ta see me, I'll be straight back down here 'fore ya can say 'go fer ya gun'". He swept his battered hat off his head and held it over his heart. Michelle looked at the weasel crooked before capitulating with an almost imperceptible nod and flicking through a register on her left. Nack waited patiently as she looked back at him,

"Number 407, fifth floor. Lifts to your left, stairs to your right".

"Thanks love", he decided to sugar the pill a little, "had this job long?" She looked a little stunned by this question, choking a reply of,

"A, About six months". Nack tapped the desk he was leaning on,

"I'll be back in three years, and when I'm back, I expect you to be manager of this establishment" the weasel intoned with a tone of supreme sincerity. The receptionist stared at him, trying to see any hint of a smile, any suggestion of a joke, but Nack held his face straight with ease of long practice. He nodded and headed for the stairs; when he was up a floor and a half, he allowed himself a snigger. Typical people, so easy to tie in knots.

His good mood lasted until crested the fifth set of stairs, when he stopped dead and narrowed his eyes. The back of his neck had begun to itch and for as long as he could remember, that had meant trouble. Nack hadn't done as well as he had without trusting his gut instinct and at the minute it was saying 'Houston, we have a big problem'. He went from idle to ready in seconds, eyes slitted dangerously as he sidled along the corridor towards Jessie's apartment. He couldn't hear anything and there was no-one around that he could see, but he didn't relax until he was up against the door of the apartment. He quickly checked left and right, assuring himself the corridor was empty, before pushing his ear to the door.

There was no sound, and that was unnatural. In a habitable room with one occupant, there should have been some noise, any noise. In his subconscious, Nack went from ready to dangerous. Taking another check, he began to disable the keypad on the door. He cursed; computers and gadgets were never his strong point, he'd always been a shooter or a fighter, but thankfully the lock clicked as he shorted it out. It'd be traceable, but to hell with that; if a friend was in trouble, property damage wasn't an issue. He breathed, checked the corridor a final time and gently pushed the door open.

Rule number one of hostile situations; never poke your head round the door. Nack had learned that lesson the hard way; he'd have a bald scar on his cranium until the day he died from a billy club. Instead, the weasel removed his hat and cautiously pushed it through the crack in the door, mimicking the movement of a head with his hand. When nothing happened, he pushed the door open a little further and quickly slid inside the darkened room.

Letting his eyes adjust, the weasel silently slid the door shut behind him, slowly clenching and unclenching his fist to ease the tension in his body slightly. When he assured himself there was no movement, he quietly crept along the wall. Typical designers; the light switch was at the far end of the room. Nack made it to the corner before deciding on a low whisper,

"Jess?" he hissed into the darkness before wetting his lips and trying again, "Jess? If this is a joke, you're going out a window. Jess?" Nothing. Things just went from 'bad' to 'worse'. The weasel slid along the wall again, reaching out for the light switch. Turning his head away and closing his eyes to avoid blindness, he flipped the switch.

The light wasn't as bright as he feared; he avoided being dazzled. A second told him all he needed to know; Jess had been here recently and hadn't been gone long. His eyes roved around, noting the bathroom door was wide open and a cold draft was coming from somewhere. He was about to follow the draft when his eyes fell on the table. Approaching it, his eyebrows raised. It had, at one stage, been a picture of the whole gang together, just before the split, but someone had done a number on it. The heads had been neatly cut out by a sharp blade, leaving only two complete figures in the picture. One of which was, he noticed, himself. Who would…?

The breath caught in his throat as a sudden, sick wave of fear lurched from the pit of his stomach. The fur all over his body rose as goose bumps forced themselves to the surface of his skin. For the first time since he could remember, Nack prayed to any God that would listen that his suspicion, his greatest fear, was unfounded, that this was just a twisted coincidence. As he realised a second piece of paper was under the photo, he knew he wouldn't be that lucky, but he had to know, had to be sure. He moved his hand – his hand was trembling. He stared at it agog; he'd always prided himself on his steady hands, but here they trembled like leaves. Forcing his hand to still, he reached forwards slowly and with all the care of a pathologist moving a recently deceased murder victim, moved the photo aside to reveal the second sheet of paper.

_The mark!_ Despite all his years as a rough and tumble mercenary, the mere sight of that mark, and everything it represented, shook Nack to the core of his soul. As the full sight of the mark, etched indelibly in black marker pen, burned into his mind, Nack let out a low moan. Memories; hideous, foul memories tumbled out from a dark, dank corner of his mind, a part of himself he'd sworn died a long time ago. They threatened to overwhelm him as tears pricked at his eyes, remembering every gristly detail of what that single, simple sketch represented. On unsteady legs, he lurched towards the bathroom and headed towards the toilet, the knowledge making him physically sick.

He retched, the scent of his vomit clouting him on the nose like a malodorous perfume as he flushed. His mind raced; seven years, _seven damned years_, since he thought he'd buried that demon, now this. Shaking, he slowly washed his mouth out, realising the draft was coming from under the bedroom door. An open window; he was long gone by now. He returned to the lounge, steeling himself to verify his awful thoughts. Yes, it was the same, the same mark that had been left at too many crime scenes for him to count, almost all of them involving some form of violence and intimidation. Taking deep breaths, he tried to centre himself and recount the facts.

There was no body, no blood and no sign of a struggle that he could see – that meant Jess may well be alive. Second, the mark proved that an extremely dangerous individual was now loose in Station Square and if the photo was right, he was right at the top of the hit list. He scanned the photo again, recognising the only other member in the photo and cursed – he now only had a single friend against this new threat. He had to get away from here and get into contact with this person. He didn't like it, but he had few options and even less time. Nack decided to take the photo and the mark as evidence, folding them neatly and slipping them into a pocket in his leather jacket. He forced himself into a composed state and walked calmly out the door, forcing and wedging it shut to delay detection of the fused lock. Nack walked casually down the hallway – it took all his control not to break into a headlong sprint.

As Nack crossed the lobby of the apartments, mind still in turmoil, he couldn't have known he was being watched. The shot was inch-perfect and caused the weasel to jump a foot in the air,

"Pow!" When he was sure he was no longer under threat of an imminent coronary, Nack turned to see Michelle pointing a 'finger-gun' at him, smiling broadly,

"Guess you lost your gun, pardner" she quipped, holstering an imaginary six-shooter. With an act of willpower that would have shamed the most holy of believers, Nack resisted the urge to vault the desk and pistol-whip the receptionist to death with her own finger-gun and instead settled for a disdainful sneer. As he marched out the lobby, he mentally reduced his estimate of three years to two; the girl was annoying enough to make it big quickly.

Having exited the building, Nack threw his leg over the seat of his airbike and gunned the engine. The weasel shook his head and took a deep, drawing breath, trying to remember everything he could about the Mobian behind the mark. That can of worms was particularly foul and he rapidly gave up; he needed a place to think. Weaving in and out of the traffic, Nack pulled up outside a particularly run-down local dive, grimly noting that the original name of 'Pit Stop' had been changed by a local graffiti artist – it now read 'PitS Top'. He knew which name was more appropriate the second the door creaked open. The endearing scent of stale sweat and tobacco smoke lodged in both nostrils as he sauntered across to the ramshackle desk. The bell was chipped and cracked and the resultant noise it made only encouraged a tirade of swearing that impressed even the veteran bounty hunter.

"Yeah, watcha want?" The bulldog drew deeply on his latest cigarette, lazily blowing smoke rings as Nack narrowed his eyes,

"I want a room, private". The bulldog turned towards the weasel, five foot six of solid muscle and flab with really bad B.O. and its loose, flapping cheeks creasing into a sneer.

"No hope, we're fully booked, 'less you wanna…" he trailed off as Nack casually produced a twenty from his jacket pocket. He doubted it was there for more than a second before it was snatched up, the bulldog moving with more speed than usual for a Mobian of his size, "oh, jus' remembered, someone was jus' movin' out. Bear wimme a sec." Nack nodded, watching as the proprietor of the Pit Stop slouched out from behind the desk and moved slowly up the stairs. The weasel knew what was going to happen, but he also knew that money talked and he had enough of it to be in with a shout. Sure enough, there was a bellow from upstairs and a few seconds later, a ragged looking skunk shot out the front door carrying a very recently packed suitcase. Nack waited patiently as the owner reappeared, now grinning in an inane manner,

"This way sir, I'll show ya to yer room". Nack hefted his travelling pack, wrinkling his nose as the bulldog turned away. Man, that guy had bad breath issues.

Home sweet home the weasel thought bitterly as the door slammed shut behind him. In just half an hour, his world had turned violently upside down and in another half hour, he was going to turn someone else's world the same way. The room was as bad as he'd expected, but at least the sheets had been changed recently. It still stank of cigarettes and booze, so the weasel opened a window to let in a little fresh air. He now had a little breathing space, in more ways than one. It was getting on for ten and he briefly debated whether to leave the call for now, but swiftly decided the sooner she knew, the better prepared she'd be. It didn't pay to wait with something like this. According to the news, his contact had an apartment in Station Square. It was a long shot, but if he could find the number there was a chance he'd be able to talk and warn the potential victim before it was too late.

Miracle of miracles, the hostel did actually own a Station Square telephone directory, allowing Nack to quickly discover the number he needed. Nack flipped his phone open, thankful that he'd remembered to put credit on the damn thing since his call to Jess earlier in the day. He dialled and put the phone to his ear.

**Done. Back and fully functional. The target was still unconscious but breathing steadily. Surgery was routine and flawless. There were two targets remaining. They would soon be neutralised and revenge formalised.**

The alarms' dreaded tone shatter the tranquillity of the bedroom, eliciting a long suffering groan from the covers of the four poster bed. A slender arm crept out from the warmth of the blanket and slammed down on the alarm with a satisfying amount of force. Stupid alarm, it was still ringing. With a second groan, a figure pushed itself upright and shrugged the comforting cocoon of the luxurious blanket. Amy Rose forced her eyes open and glowered at the offending clock. _That's weird_, the hedgehog was mildly confused, _it's only ten o'clock. The alarm_. Her eyes shot open with a burst of adrenaline; it wasn't the alarm that was ringing, it was the phone!

With a speed to rival her idol, hero and future husband (in her own mind anyway), Amy vaulted over the sofa and avoided the living room assault course to scramble to the phone. She swiftly snatched up the received and barked an urgent hello. She was a little disconcerted at the reply though,

"Is that you Rouge?" She picked her words carefully, not recognising the deep, hoarse voice or the accent,

"Umm, no, this is Amy Rose, who's this?" In another part of the city, a purple weasel swore under his breath before answering,

"Hi, Amy, do you know Rouge the Bat by any chance?" The weasel was getting desperate and hissed in triumph as the girl on the other end answered questioningly,

"Umm, yeah this is her number. She's not in at the minute. Who's this?" She asked for a second time, a little ticked that he hadn't answered her question yet.

"Listen kid, me name's not important. What is important is that I get in touch with Rouge" Nack was smart enough not to let his name onto a kid, "this is urgent". Please don't go stubborn on me he pleaded silently. Unfortunately, he had the misfortune to be addressing the personification of stubbornness herself. Amy scowled down the phone,

"Okay, Rouge is on holiday. She won't be back for about a week. I can take a message if you…"

"No, I need to talk to her", the voice was tinged with desperation, "did she leave a contact number or something? It's vital I talk to her – it's a business matter". That caught the pink hedgehog's attention, she knew enough about Rouge to know her business was mostly important. She decided on a compromise,

"Yeah, she left a number. I'll tell you it if I get your name first". Nack scowled but had no choice; she was holding all the cards and he needed that number.

"Alright kid, my name's Nack the Weasel. I doubt you'll have heard of me, but I know Rouge. Can I get that number now?" he asked snappily.

"Okay, okay, geez" Amy quickly came upon the pad of paper where Rouge had scribbled her contact number, "sure, got a pen ready?" Nack fished out a pencil of his hat band and noted the number quickly,

"Thanks babe; gotta go, see ya". He quickly hung up and dialled again.

Amy set the receiver down, still not sure if she'd done the right thing. The name Nack was echoing in her head and she felt a little disturbed by it. It was like she should have known the name but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She mulled it over in her mind for a few minutes before yawning and heading for the bedroom again. As she drew the covers to her neck, she resolved to ask Sonic in the morning, or maybe Tails if she saw him first. She smiled slightly; babe, that was something she could get used to being called. Maybe she could convince Sonic about it…


	3. The Darkness is Coming'

Chapter 2 – 'The Darkness is Coming'.

As Amy dropped off and Nack speed-dialled a second number, a familiar Mobian was draping her slim body over a deck chair and adjusting a pair of sunglasses. Rouge let out a contented sigh as she soaked up the sun of the island. If nothing else, South Island was remote, quiet and just perfect for her needs. She'd missed most of the holiday crowd and the complex she now resided in was deserted save for herself and a few others who kept to themselves. All she wanted now was a few days of peace and quiet. _Finally, a decent break. Guess my department got a bit more funding this year._

The Mobian had been as surprised as anyone else when the President himself had insisted she take a fortnight off to 'rest and recuperate' as he delicately put it. Well, she reasoned, she had more than earned it; she had recovered vital information that had helped save the world, and had had a hand in dethroning the self-proclaimed Metal Overlord. She shivered a little at that name; she'd done some scary things in her time, but that surely had to top the lot. Over a hundred tonnes of ravenous metal death bent on nothing less than the total and utter annihilation of you and your closest friends. And that was only one arm.

Still, she reminded herself, that was in the past now and the President hadn't asked too many questions about how she and the others had managed to overcome the metal fiend. They were too busy concentrating on tracking down Eggman before he managed to set up another base and give them the slip yet again. Taking a sip of her martini, the well cultured bat gave a luxurious stretch, absently wondering if the others were doing as well as she was. Especially Shadow; she winced as she pictured his bloody body flying through the air as the Metal Overlord had lashed out faster than he'd expected, just before Omega's cannons had finally taken the arm off at the shoulder. He'd needed urgent treatment but luckily had recovered well, or at least his body had.

The bat frowned; the amnesia had a firm grip on his mind, but re-meeting and hanging around Sonic had helped jog his memory. Last she had heard, he was renting an apartment with the blue blur himself and talking with as many of the gang as possible to try and remember. He was still having trouble believing he had survived a drop through the stratosphere though,

"_The, stratosphere, b,but I couldn't, I'd, it's just…"_

"_Hey, chill it Shads. You did it and survived" the blue hedgehog's eyes had sparkled, "though you were still dumb enough to let Eggy catch you, and Rouge fool you into thinking that…"_

"_Shut it faker!" Everyone had paused at this, Sonic especially._

"_What did you call me?"_ Rouge couldn't help but smile at Shadow's face; he must have thought he'd be getting a slap for that comment, _"heh, you said faker didn't you?"_

"_Uh, yeah, is that bad?" Sonic clapped the black hedgehog on the shoulder and looked straight into his blood red eyes, _

"_No way man, that's the best thing you've said in a long time". Shadow smiled sardonically,_

"_Guess I'd better say it more then, faker."_

"_Right that's it. Tails, mark a course; you're claimed Shadow the Hedgehog!"_ The two had then vanished into the distance in one of their super speed races; of course, it had been a dead heat and both had returned with almost identical grins on their faces. Maybe the amnesia was a good thing for Shadow, Rouge mused; by forgetting the pain in his past and experiencing a happy present, Shadow would be better prepared for when he did remember. If he ever did. She finished her cocktail and sketched a quick list on the corner of a napkin.

Firstly, she had to buy enough food to last for another couple of days, then she wanted to go sightseeing; the waterfall in the jungle of this island was supposed to be particularly spectacular. She also wanted to send a few postcards, especially to Amy. The hedgehog had agreed to house-sit her Station Square apartment at very short notice and the bat was extremely grateful. She'd judged Amy to be a young airhead besotted with Sonic when they'd first met, but her sheer determination and courage against the Metal Overlord couldn't be denied. She also had a sweet nature and looked out for those she considered friends. The imagery of Amy's face crying prevented Rouge from pointing out any flaws the pink hedgehog might have suffered from. That and she didn't fancy being on the receiving end of the Piko Piko hammer if she could avoid it.

The bat was just thinking of what to send to Sonic and Shadow when her phone rang. Her first instinct was to ignore it; everyone knew she was away and she really didn't want to have to move her arm all of two feet to reach her phone. Just as quickly, it dawned on her that only two people actually knew the number of that particular phone; the head of her department in the President's office and Amy Rose, who had sworn not to ring unless the four horsemen of the Apocalypse were not only at the door but inside the hallway and hanging up their coats. _Mind you, knowing the crowd I'm lumped with now, that really wouldn't surprise me; a daredevil hedgehog with a knack for saving the world and his number one fan, a two-tailed foxboy genius and an echidna who couldn't keep a single gem safe_. If Rouge's cheeks heated slightly at the memory of the echidna she didn't register it as she reached for the phone and pressed the green button.

"Hello?"

Nack was cursing as the phone rang; he really didn't want to force this on anyone but he didn't have a choice. He had called on all the deities he knew remotely associated with luck that the bat would answer but as the drone continued, he found it increasingly unlikely. Therefore, when a cultured, feminine voice said hello, the weasel nearly dropped the phone.

"Rouge, is that you?"

The bat was instantly on her guard; she didn't recognise that voice and the consequences of that could be severe. Her tone hardened as she spat,

"Who the hell is this? How'd you get the number?"

Nack wet his lips,

"The darkness is coming".

As those words echoed through the phone, to Rouge at least, the sunlight turned cold and the waves she could hear became crashes of thunder. Her breath came quick and light as the implications of that phase sank in – to anyone other than a guild member, it was a meaningless assortment of four words, but to her it was the most dire warning imaginable. Before they had all gone their separate ways, the guild members had devised that code-phrase, only to be used in emergencies, when life and limb were in danger. And as a former member of that guild, she was obliged to honour the call. Voice shaking slightly, she replied uncertainly,

"What did you say?"

"You heard; figure it out. You were a smart girl in the guild. I'm in Station Square, I need to meet up with ya". The voice was male and harsh, but gentler now. Rouge gathered as many of her scattered wits as possible before replying,

"I'm on South Island. I'll be on the first flight back".

"I'll be in the airport, call me with your flight details. Gotta go". The other end hung up.

Rouge slumped back down in her chair, still numb from the emotional shock. Nothing from any of them for over six years, then this bolt from the blue; one hell of a way to be re-introduced to at least one old friend. She quickly regained her senses and headed for her room to pack up, wondering what on Earth could force a guilder to send out that code. It had to be big and probably dangerous, just what she needed right now; another way to try and get herself killed. She sighed; this was possibly the shortest holiday she'd ever had – talk about irony. No wonder Knuckles never had holidays, argh! Even when she was half the globe away, that damned echidna wouldn't leave her thoughts. She swore, when she'd sorted out this guild business, she'd spend the rest of her holiday going after the Master Emerald, just to spite the red menace. Right now though, she had a flight to book.

Nack sat down on his bed, if you could call the shabby mattress and rickety headboard such a thing. Well, that was it, the die was cast. All he could do now was lay low and wait for the bat to get in touch. He hoped that, wherever the others were, they were all safe and that somehow, he'd be able to walk away from this mess in one piece.

Rest was needed. The scouting mission had been successful; the attack had no reason to fail. There would be no mistakes. By this time tomorrow, only a single target would remain.

Nack was up early the following morning; sleep had been hard to come by and what little he'd managed to catch didn't refresh him. He was constantly on guard as he knew better than anyone that one slip may well be his last. He quickly shucked on his jacket and hat, headed for the door of his new dive. The lock was broken, but a couple of second's work ensured that anyone who tried to break in would get at least one nasty shock. He took a lungful of air, sneezing as the cleaner air outside the Pit Stop cleared his trachea like a scouring pad. His bike was untouched, not surprising since the first thing he'd done after buying it was rig up a few extra safety features. He unlocked and reached into the rear pannier. He carefully extracted a fresh packet of smokes and a collection of photos; he'd been on the road for most of his life and carried everything important with him. Flipping through the binder, he quickly came across the one he needed, it was distasteful, but if anything would convince Rouge how serious this was, it was this. Lighting up a casual fag, Nack headed for the nearest take away.

In another part of the city, a second figure awoke and began preparations.

If there were two things Rouge could have avoided, it would have been early mornings and flying. Of course, the irony gods just had to dictate that the next available flight back to Station Square was at the mythical time of half past eight in the morning. All fine and dandy, until she remembered the airport was a three hour drive from her resort. So, at half past four in the God-damned morning, Rouge was busy getting dressed and glancing various curses at her innocent alarm clock. Fully clothed and ready as was possible this time in the day, she viciously yanked the alarm clock plug out the wall socket. Strangely, that felt particularly satisfying.

"Where to miss?" The cabbie was a little surprised to get a fare this early in the morning. He was equally surprised to see, rather than an inebriated teenager with more hot air than money, a suave, attractive bat eased open the cab door and flopped down in the seat.

"Airport please, and try not to talk to me too much".

"Huh?" Rouge turned as dirty a glance as she could at the helpless driver,

"I'm not having a good day and I don't do mornings". She dared the cabbie to open his mouth, but thankfully the human had a decent amount of brains and kept stumm as he pulled off. Wrapping her wings as close to herself as possible, Rouge went out like a light.

There was a buzzing in her ear. She tried to ignore it but it didn't go away, it just got louder. She tried to roll over,

"G'way, s'early". Of course, the volume just increased and eventually, she had to do something about it. Another smack on the alarm clock hastily dealt with that problem as Amy pulled herself upright. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, her arms clicking noisily as she eased herself out of bed and jumped into the shower. The warm water helped her feel Mobian again as she dried off with a pre-warmed white towel. Slipping her dress over her head, Amy quickly popped some bread in the toaster and arranged her Piko Piko hammer so it wasn't noticeable to the ordinary eye. She'd often been asked how she hid such a clumping great hammer on her modest person and the answer was she honestly didn't know how she did it; it was just something she did. Anyway, she had some questions to ask and a bit of shopping to do.

"Hey Sonic", a voice cut through the hedgehog's pleasant daydream, "there's…" The hedgehog flicked an annoyed glance upwards at his friend's hovering form, as always slightly envious of the fox for being able to fly so effortlessly. Tails appeared to be pointing at something, but Sonic really wanted to get back to where he'd left his daydream on pause.

"Oh, give us a minute Tails, I've just got comfortable". Sonic shifted slightly on the bench he'd sat down on, giving the impression of not wanting to move in a hurry,

"But…"

"No, whatever it is it can wait". Miles Prower, otherwise known as Tails, heaved a heavy, heartfelt sigh. Typical Sonic; a hero he might be, but he was just too stubborn for his own good. From his elevated position, Tails could see exactly what was going to happen and masked a smile. _Three, two, one…_

Sonic let out a happy sigh, in his mind trashing Eggman's latest creation and being hailed as the world's greatest superhero when a crushing weight landed squarely on the back of his neck. Instinct took over and his mind raced faster than even his body ever could. _Eggman, still running, Metal_,_ in the junkyard_; as he caught a flash of pink in his peripheral vision, he realised with horror it was worse than both of them combined. Much, much worse.

"Sonikku!" Amy Rose squealed as she latched onto her hero with a grip that was the envy of anacondas the world over. Tails fought desperately to try and stop bursting out laughing, eventually succeeding against nearly impossible odds. _Well, I tried to warn him_ he thought fatalistically as he hovered for a frontal view of the action. He chortled despite himself; it was just too funny not to. Sonic was desperately trying to get away, face contorted and arms flailing as he tried to remove Amy from round his neck. The pink horror herself had her eyes shut and an expression of sheer ecstasy plastered on her face, the face she always had when she was attempting to murder the hero of Station Square. Tails caught his friend's eye as he dropped to the deck, grinned broadly and mimed taking a photo. He wasn't too sure, but he thought he heard the choked reply of

"Just, wait" from the blue blur.

"Hey, Amy, let up; he needs to breathe". Amy peered at the two-tailed fox for a second before apparently remembering what her arms were doing. She let out a yike and sprang back, allowing Sonic to heave in deep breaths and massage his throat.

"Air, air good" he manage to say eventually, glaring at Amy as she stood with a butter-wouldn't-melt expression on her face,

"Sorry Sonic, but I haven't seen you for a while".

"All of two days" the disgruntled hedgehog muttered under his breath before turning a hard but not unkind look on Amy, "now what did I tell you earlier?"

"No hugs in public" the hedgehog mumbled, shuffling her dainty feet. Tails felt a little sorry for her; by her standards, that was actually pretty good, the redness round Sonic's neck would probably fade in an hour,

"Don't worry Ames, he's only pretending. He likes you really" the kit piped up, deftly reflecting the death glare Sonic sent his way.

"Really?" Amy had the puppy-dog eyes on, "is that true Sonic?"

_Just tell her; go on, look in her eyes and say 'yes'._ Shut up, Sonic demanded of the little voice in the back of his mind. O.K. so maybe I just might have some scraps of feelings for Amy, and maybe she aught to know, but no, not now, I'll tell her some other time – _coward_ – I told you to shut up. Man, Tails, you're dead.

Sonic coughed slightly before replying, playing down his internal struggle as he replied,

"Not when you're trying to crush me like a grape I don't. Just, try to keep it down next time okay? Please?" Amy nodded, a little put out before Sonic let up,

"So where are you to in such a rush?" Now that was something she could relate to,

"There's an offer on in one of the malls in town; two for one on the dresses I like" she said animatedly, oblivious to the look of panic passed between Sonic and Tails, "I think I'll go for a lighter pink this time, but anyway", her mind went back to the previous night, "I needed to ask you both something".

"Okay, shoot" Sonic remarked, more relaxed. _When she's not in the process of sending me to hospital, she's actually pretty cool. Man, why can't she be like this all the time?_ Amy smiled,

"Do either of you two know anyone called Nack? Nack the Weasel?"

That was unexpected; Tails scratched an ear as Sonic looked a little perplexed. Glancing across, Tails answered for the pair of them,

"Umm, no, don't think so. Why d'you ask?"

"Someone called last night asking for Rouge, said his name was Nack".

"Nah, I don't know him", Sonic admitted with a shake of his head, "mind you, this is Rouge we're talking about. She's probably got enough connections to have her personal search engine. What's her place like anyway?"

"Oh, it's the best. I'll tell you about it at the mall" Amy offered innocently.

"Sure, I'll", Sonic caught himself just in time. _Damn she's crafty_. "Hey, you're not catching me out like that girl".

"Aww, so close", Amy gave a fake scowl, "alright, I'll cut you a deal; come shopping with me and I'll make those chilli-dogs you like". THAT caught Sonic's attention.

"You serious?"

"Yep, enough for you, Tails and Shadow. Where is he anyway?"

"He's at the park" Tails answered, "he likes to walk around there, says it's peaceful and quiet".

"He still doesn't remember much, huh?" Amy said sadly. She had spoken the ultimate life-form several times and he'd made improvement, but now it was like he'd hit a brick wall and couldn't remove any more of his mental blocks. She brightened and smiled slyly, "Well, we gotta deal?"

"Your call, Sonikku" Tails affirmed in an annoying tone of voice, cheekily dodging the light-hearted cuff from his elder brother. The hedgehog made his mind up with a dramatically resigned sigh.

"I'll get no peace 'till I agree; alright, you win". Amy let out a cheer as Tails began to sidle off,

"Have a nice time you two, I'll get back to my workshop". He made to leave but was brought to a sudden stop as something seized one of his tails. The fox looked over his shoulder to see Sonic beaming at him and broke into a cold sweat,

"No hope buster, you're not getting away that easily. Besides", he smiled maliciously at Amy who nodded, "we'll need someone to carry the bags".

Nack looked up from his burger; was that a scream of denial he'd heard? Nah, couldn't have been. The weasel wiped his hands on a napkin before pulling his vibrating cell phone out of his pocket. To an observer, Nack just grunted in the affirmative a few times before clicking the cell phone closed; to the weasel himself, though, the consequences of that call were rather more enlightening than that. For the first time since last night, the weasel allowed himself a glimmer of hope that he'd be able to survive this.


	4. Reunions and Ramifications

Chapter 3 – Reunions and Ramifications.

In the three years since Chaos's attack on Station Square, most of the city had been rebuilt. One of the new additions to the city had been the Memorial Park; this was about a hundred acres square of parkland with a pleasant pond, a large picnic area and a small wood. It boasted a steady supply of traffic as people walked their dogs and fed the ducks at the pond in a time honoured tradition that showed no signs of being broken. Shadow the Hedgehog was a regular visitor to this park; he liked being around his friends, but there were times when he just needed a bit of space and free time. This was especially true when living with Sonic; the hedgehog was a great person, but being around him for more than three days non-stop would have had Shadow crawling up the walls. The black hedgehog smiled and wondered just what insane force possessed Amy to chase after him as she did; in her shoes, he'd have been running just as hard away from the blue nightmare.

_Now that's just petty_ the hedgehog scolded himself; _Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, Cream and the Chaotix picked you up when you were down_. They're still helping you now he reminded himself. As he did every day, he strained him mind back to try and remember something, anything beyond waking up in a strange white bed with tubes sprouting from his body at all angles. It was hard for him; all he had were strange images that confused and even scared him; a ghost-like girl smiling at him, a blur when he was feeling extremely cold, a searing, burning pain, he cut himself off and took a fortifying breath. He'd try again later, when he'd had something to eat; he rubbed his stomach as he plotted a route back to the flat he shared with Sonic. Having thought for a few seconds, he set off walking; enjoying the change of pace from the super-speed races he always had with Sonic and Tails.

He thought as he walked, a puzzling conundrum that he often questioned; early on, before the gang had realised how bad his amnesia was, they'd referred to him as the 'ultimate life-form'. He often wondered what they'd meant by this, why was he so special? He was very fast, but so was Sonic, he wasn't quite as smart as Tails and he didn't even want to think about his cooking. He chuckled; he could run faster than a Formula 1 racing car and do acrobatics that would have Olympic athletes green with envy, but when it came to the kitchen he was about as useful as a solar-powered torch. Oh well, can't be good at everything he mused as something landed at his feet with a dull splat. His hear froze as he realised what it was; a small ball, red with gold stars on it. He knew what that meant and braced for impact; it wasn't the ball that was dangerous, it was what followed it…

Something large, strong and moving at a rapid rate of knots ploughed into him and by sheer foul luck smacked right into his solar plexus. He didn't go down, but idly wondered if his lungs would ever recover enough to accommodate oxygen again. The huge dog reared up and put its saucer shaped paws on the immobile hedgehog's shoulders, tongue slapping into his face. THAT brought the feeling back alright.

"Gyaahhh, geroff you mad mutt". Shadow stepped back and let the dog drop to the floor, woofing happily as a high voice shouted out,

"Down, Akki, down; sorry".

"S'not a problem" Shadow gasped as he recaptured his breath, still stunned by the impact of the Akita dog. _And he's still a puppy_ he thought despairingly, thinking about what would happen when Akki was fully grown and shuddering. There was a high pitched clip as a lead was applied to the collar of the Akita and a girl's voice shouted,

"Bad boy Akki, bad boy. No jumping up at people, bad dog". Shadow watched as the pup whimpered and flattened his ears, cowed into submission by a cat girl that was the just about bigger than he was. The cat looked up apologetically,

"Sorry Shadow, he saw you before I did. He must really like you; he never jumps at anyone else". _Lucky me_ the hedgehog thought, refraining from rolling his eyes with difficulty; _I only threw the ball for him once, now he just ploughs into whenever he sees me, what did I do?_

"No problem Cinnamon, how's his training class coming?" The cat brightened, the patch of light brown fur around one eye visible as she smiled,

"Oh he's much better now, hardly pulls at all and he knows how to sit".

"Really?"

"Yeah, watch", the cat looked the puppy square in the eye, "Akki, sit".

To Shadow's complete amazement, the dog did just that; enormous tail sweeping the ground as his rump landed. The hedgehog blinked a few times before his brain functioned again,

"Uh, umm, wow", he stuttered before smiling mischievously, "say, does that training work on hedgehogs as well?"

"Not that I know of, why?" Cinnamon echoed his smile,

"Ah, shame, I know a certain blue hedgehog who isn't that well trained". The cat chortled and punched him lightly on the arm,

"That's no way to talk about Sonic; anyway, I gotta go, Mum's expecting me back at three. C'mon Akki, see you round Shadow". The cat pulled on the lead and led the reluctant Akita away, the dog pulling gently to get at Shadow for one last lick. As Cinnamon gave a last mighty heave, the dog relented, turned and trotted away obediently, Shadow as always dumbfounded by this. _That cat must have some kind of power over him; she's younger than Cream and handles that dog like it's nothing_. He'd met Cinnamon not too long after being released from the hospital, just by walking in the park like this. He'd thrown the ball for her puppy and chatted for a while, before Cinnamon told him that the Akita had only been a few months old at the time. The cat had confided in him that she wanted to be a lion-tamer when she grew up; she was certainly getting enough practice the hedgehog thought as activated his shoes and headed for home.

The first thing that greeted him as his key clicked in the lock was the scent of heaven. The chilli-dogs were sizzling away merrily; he could hear them from here, as well as Amy shooing Sonic away from trying to steal a few of them before they were done. Absent-mindedly dropping his keys in the pot near the door, the black hedgehog peeked into the dining room/ kitchen, smiling at the sight. Tails was sitting patiently at the table, nose buried in some book or other, while Sonic was trying to sidle up to the frying pan without Amy noticing. Tails glanced round,

"Oh, hey Shadow". The other looked towards him as he nodded,

"Hey guys; Amy, to what do we owe the pleasure?" he enquired, glancing towards the result of her labours. To his surprise, it was Tails who answered voraciously,

"We owe nothing; hell, sheer hell that's what it was. I'm never shopping with you two again" the kit swore as Sonic grinned broadly,

"C'mon little bro, it wasn't that bad",

"You weren't carrying the bags" the fox cut him off. Shadow shook his head as he asked,

"Have I got time for a shower before dinner?" Amy smiled and slapped Sonic's hand away from the sizzling pan.

"Yeah, why, what happened?"

"Two words; Cinnamon, ball."

"Ah, Akki attack. Yeah, go for it, these'll be done in about fifteen minutes". The black hedgehog took off for the shower, grabbing a towel from his room on the way in.

As Shadow arrived home, so did a second resident of Station Square. Mind completely numbed by the truly terrible in-flight movie, Rouge staggered through the gates of the Station Square airport. She cursed the call, the uncomfortable airplane seats, the person who designed the uncomfortable airplane seats and the person who invented jetlag in roughly that order as she waited for her bags. As they approached on the terribly slow carousel, she sluggishly switched her phone on and, rather unsurprisingly, there was a message awaiting her. _'Farbacks Coffee store, near entrance. I'll be waiting'_. At least that was something she muggily realised; she needed a decent shot of coffee to wake up properly.

Nack blew the steam from his expresso, wanting to light up a smoke but restricted by the airport security signs. His eyes roved around, looking for the Rouge he remembered but a bit taller. There were some real stunners moseying round; no matter how serious the business was, Nack always had a keen eye for the ladies. In fact, there was one heading right for the café right now. Much as it pained him, he had to tell her when she sat down at his table,

"Er, sorry love, I'm waiting for someone" he remarked offhandedly, sipping slowly from his mug.

"She's just sat down". Nack spluttered into his coffee, the foam dripping off his muzzle as he stared at the beautiful woman now sat opposite him, "Nack the Weasel, I might have known. It's been a while". Rouge smiled, exposing her fangs as she offered a hand that Nack shook, still partially stupefied by the revelation of his new partner.

Having ordered a double expresso that Rouge insisted was necessary for her to fully wake up, the two sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to think of a way to break the ice. Nack made the first effort,

"So, how's things been going then?" Rouge glanced up,

"Pretty good, all things considered, what about you?" _Fine until last night_ the weasel thought dryly before answering,

"Fine, been on the road mostly, doin' odd jobs when I can", he changed tack slightly, "you've changed a lot; what happened to the skinny little bat from the guild?"

"Probably the same thing that happened to your six-pack" the bat pointed out, laughing slightly as Nack's purple hue didn't quite hide his blush. _I wonder if Knuckles' fur hides – no, stop thinking about him;_ the bat checked herself. She then sighed,

"I don't think you sent out the call just to ask about my life thus far". Nack nodded slowly, feeling the mood turn sombre. He swallowed the last of his coffee and exhaled,

"Right, I came into town about three days ago, an' just by luck got hold of a number that turned out to be Jessie Wheatears'. Remember her?"

"Hell yes", Rouge exclaimed, a flow of memories triggered by the name, "I trained with her a lot in the guild. Damn, I didn't know she lived in Station Square…" she saw the look on Nack's face and fell quiet, waiting for the blow to fall. The weasel continued,

"Yeah, we arranged to meet at her place. When I got there last night, she wasn't there", Nack removed a folded up piece of paper from his jacket and slid it across the table, "this was". The bat carefully picked it up and unfolded it, eyes widening as she lowered the paper to stare at Nack. The weasel waited for her to come to terms with this, watching as she lowered the piece of paper and swore quietly.

"Is this…what I think it is?" Just as he had, she needed conformation.

"Yeah, it is" Nack swallowed an uncomfortable lump in his throat, "Seraph's back and he's taken Jess".

It took a few minutes for the full implications of those words to sink in; Rouge was having trouble just getting over the name,

"So she's…"

"No", Nack hastily derailed that chain of thought, "I said taken, not killed. For all we know she's still alive and well". Rouge let out a low breath,

"So you'll reckon he's going to come for us next?"

"In a word, yes", the weasel affirmed glumly, staring at the dregs of his coffee as if the secret of turning lead into gold could be found there if only he looked hard enough, "and I reckon he's going to start soon. We don't have a lot of time". Rouge nodded, all traces of sleepiness vanquished and purely down to business.

"Okay, when are the others getting here?" Nack smiled sadly, his overlong fang creasing his lower lip as he dipped into his pocket again; _here comes the hard bit_.

"The, there's no-one else Rouge". The bat's head snapped straight up,

"NO…"

"Shhhh" the weasel hissed, glancing round hurriedly; luckily, the bat's exclamation had been drowned out by a take-off, "this was at Jess' as well" and he slipped the maimed photograph across the table. One look told the veteran spy all she needed to know,

"Oh this is really not what I need right now" Rouge moaned as she kneaded her forehead with her knuckles. Nack gave a gruff chuckle,

"You and me both babe; not really what I had on my mind either. Now, how much do you remember?"

"About him or the guild?"

"Both".

"Not nearly enough" the bat admitted.

"Thought as much" Nack stood up, "c'mon, my ride's outside; I'll take you back to my humble abode" he spat the last two words like poison. Rouge mirrored his movements,

"Oh, Nack?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't call me babe".

"Whatever".

"Now that was heavenly; Amy, you outdid yourself".

"Oh stop, you're making me blush", the pink hedgehog giggled as Tails leaned back in his chair, completely full to the brim. Sonic and Shadow were pretty much the same way – whatever her other faults may have been, Amy was a genius in the kitchen. _How many ways can you make chilli-dogs?_ the kit thought to himself before stretching. Sonic groaned and nearly fell sideways off his chair,

"Someone call the hospital, I need a stomach pump. Super-suck" he added as Amy glowered at him,

"Are you saying my cooking's bad?" she demanded. Sonic grinned and dropped the act,

"No, I want my stomach pumped so I can eat more of those dogs" he remarked, causing Amy to go almost as red as her namesake. Tails smirked,

"See, told you he liked you" he quipped, both he and Shadow snickering as Sonic went as red as Amy and chuckled nervously.

"Right you two; for that you get the honour of dish duty. Now get!" Amy stormed, trying unsuccessfully to hide her blushes. Shadow managed to contain himself,

"Yeah right, and just how are you going", he trailed off as the haft of the Piko Piko hammer edged into view, "err, dishes sound good". He glanced at Tails, who followed his gaze and blanched slightly,

"Yep, fine by me; I'll wash you dry?"

"No way, washing's easy. I'll wash."

"Not a chance – rock-scissors-dynamite?" the fox challenged.

"You're on," Shadow confirmed, matching his hand movement with Tails', "one, two, three, go. Rats!" he exclaimed as his dynamite was cut by the fox's scissors. Tails beamed smugly as he collected up the plates. Sonic was grinning as well; Shadow's pride wouldn't stand for that,

"C'mon washer-boy, let's give these two love-birds time alone" he remarked, speeding into the kitchen with his furry friend not far behind. The slam of the kitchen door was drowned by Sonic's angry shout,

"Hey!" the hedgehog hammered on the door, "you two are dead meat when I get in there". _Damn, why is this getting to me – you know why, 'cause its tr – finish that sentence and I'll lobotomise you – shutting up…_. Huffing, Sonic turned to Amy, who was by now a brilliant red. Sonic stumbled as though blinded,

"Wow, hey, I could get sunburn from that" he said in a jokey tone, causing the pink member of his species to burst out laughing.

Up to his elbows in soapy water, Tails casually asked,

"Do you reckon those two actually have feelings for each other?" Shadow was quiet for a minute before replying,

"Amy certainly, but I'm not so sure about Sonic; if he does they're well hidden", the black hedgehog shrugged before asking his own question,

"When do you reckon it'll be safe to come out of here?"

"Umm, hard to say, but I'd definitely give it a couple of hours", the fox looked to his left and his face fell, "mind you, with those saucepans that shouldn't be a problem".

Amy checked her watch and did a double take,

"Oh nuts, it's getting on a bit. I'd better get back to Rouge's". Sonic smiled gently,

"No problem, hold onto me; I could do with a bit of a run". Amy stared at him gobsmacked and Sonic wondered if he'd said the right thing.

"Y, You'd do that?" the pink hedgehog stuttered, causing Sonic to rub the back of his neck,

"Er, sure, I do it all the time. Like when Tails needs to get back to his workshop, I'll take a quick run and get him there in minutes. Just something I'd do for a friend" he finished lamely. Amy smiled,

"So, I'm your friend?"

"Hell yeah, but just a friend" the blue blur wagged a warning finger,

"That'll have to do, for now at least", Amy said in a light-hearted tone, heart singing out wonderful praises to the world, "now, how do I hold on?" Sonic chuckled,

"At least wait 'til we're outside girl" he said exasperatedly, leading the pink hedgehog out the door. After checking she was holding on alright, the famous blur took off at his traditional speed of just below the sound barrier.

Nack flung the door of the Pit Stop wide open as Rouge removed the weasel's spare helmet and gently straightened her huge ears. She winced as her appendages complained at the cramped conditions they'd been forced to endure, shaking her head as she followed the weasel into the dilapidated place. The owner looked up from a magazine that could politely have been described as unsavoury and let out a grunting chuckle.

"Fort so; I know a ladeez' man when I see won. Good taste mate" he said approvingly as Nack glanced to see if Rouge needed restraining. Luckily, the bat managed to keep her cool as Nack smiled and led her upstairs. When she was sure they were out of earshot, Rouge unloaded,

"You can do better than this; why a flea-pit like this for Christ's sake?"

"'Cause I'm keeping my head down, same reason you're not going back to your place tonight" Nack answered as he fiddled with the lock, carefully avoiding his installed electric shock device before swinging the door open.

"Welcome in". Rouge crossed her arms and scowled,

"No, no way and never in that order". Nack frowned before sensing an opportunity to bait the bat a little,

"Why, what's wrong with it?"

"You need a list?", if sarcasm was measurable, it would have been dripping off Rouge's statement as she stepped inside, "great, I've lost my first holiday in years, I'm living in a trash heap, a ravenous psycho's after me and to top it all off, I have the worst case of jetlag imaginable. Oh, what did I do, what sin was so heinous as to deserve this?" The bat threw herself down on the bed and buried her head in a pillow, the absorbent material muffling her shrieks. Nack didn't trust his own voice; he'd already cracked several ribs fending off an assault of the giggles. Eventually, she calmed down a bit and faced the weasel again, smiling in a resigned fashion,

"Sorry, just had to blow off some steam; this wasn't what I had planned for my two week break". The weasel nodded, sitting down next to her on the bed and taking off his hat,

"Don't apologise, think I didn't do that when I found out about this? Anyway, I'm shattered as well, so we better turn in. We need to get ready; tomorrow we put our heads together and try and come up with some kind of a plan". Rouge agreed before glancing around the room,

"There a shower in here?"

"Yeah, only cold water though. That door," Nack pointed one of two doors she could see, "oh, whatever you do, don't take the blob of white-tac off the wall".

"Lemme guess, plugging the water pipe?" Rouge mustered a smile from somewhere, but the weasel shook his head,

"No, plugging the peep-hole". The expression of horror that crossed Rouge's face at this bit of info was the straw that broke the camel's back; Nack just collapsed in utter hysterics, folding up in gales of laughter as Rouge tried to reduce him to ash with a sustained glare.

"Hey Ames, we're here; you can let go now" Sonic spoke as he screeched to a halt outside the correct apartment block. The hedgehog froze for a few seconds as his passenger alighted on unsteady legs, breathing deeply,

"How do Knuckles and Tails do that?"

"Ease of long practice" the hero assured her with a cocksure grin that Amy quickly mimicked.

"Well, guess I'd better get some practice in myself…"

"Hey, I'm a hero not a glorified taxi service," Sonic struck a dignified pose as Amy stifled her giggles quickly, "well, see you round Amy".

"Okay, see you".

"Right".

"Well".

"Um…"

"Er…" Sonic stood, apparently paralysed with indecision before turning suddenly and bolting into the distance. Amy watched him go, still smitten by the hot-headed hero, but also envious of his speed and his I'm-so-cool-nothing-gets-to-me attitude. _But then, why'd he take so long to leave?_ Shrugging, the pink hedgehog jogged gently into the apartment block, running a replay of her run in her mind.

Sonic came to a standstill half the city away, heart slamming against his ribs and for once it wasn't due to the run. _What the hell is wrong with me; I wanted to, to hug her. Why?_ In his heart of hearts, Sonic already knew the answer to that question, but as always, he quashed it down deep and resumed his run, mulling these new feelings over and trying to find reasons for denying the inevitable; as always again, it was getting harder to do so.

Wrapped in Nack's old towel, Rouge ordered the weasel into the bathroom; no peeking on pain of being tied up and left outside for Seraph to deal with at his leisure. When decently clothed again, she whistled the weasel back in.

"Right, you want the bed or the floor?"

"You're kidding right; my room, my bed", Nack jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "Off!"

"If you were a gentleman, you'd let me sleep here and crash on the floor", Rouge crossed her arms and frowned, flumping back down the bed and closing her eyes. She rapidly re-opened them when two arms slid under her and a voice growled in her ear.

"Guess what", giving a heave, Nack turfed the bat off the bed, leaving her to sprawl ungraciously on the floor with a yelp, "I'm not a gentleman". Nack pulled his hat over his eyes, ignoring Rouge's contempt and the fact she was nearly glowing with rage.

"You can sleep on it tomorrow" he grunted as she opened her mouth. The comment mollified the incensed bat somewhat, though it didn't stop her grumbling as she grumpily arranged the cushions of the sofa on the filthy carpet. The sooner this is over the better, she realised; Nack had fewer manners than Knuckles and she hadn't thought that possible. No sooner had the thought passed her mind than she growled in frustration – even in possible mortal peril, she couldn't get Knuckles off her mind! I'm going to have to kill him she realised as the intoxicating waves of slumber pulled at her, dragging her down until her gentle snores were all that could be heard in the darkened apartment.

As darkness descended, every member of Station Square's population headed home following a day of work or play. Every member, that was, bar one; the last rays of the sun were fading when a lone figure finished a complicated, choreographed set of manoeuvres that would have left three potential attackers on the floor, gasping for air and nursing several broken bones. The silent, black-clad Mobian turned to face the moon, paused for a second and finally moved, heading out into the city. There was work to be done and the targets were there for the taking.


	5. Family, Hearth and Home

Chapter 4 – Family, Hearth and Home.

"I'm home" Sonic yelled as he slid the door open and stepped inside. Strange, no-one was answering him as he strode through the hallway. Just as well; after embarrassing him like that he wouldn't have been surprised if they'd run to Tails' workshop in the Mystic Ruins. Oh well, he'd always have tomorrow to cook up something…

"Get 'im!"

Sonic's reactions were fast but as he felt something crash his legs and send him sprawling he knew he'd walked right into this one. A furry arm caught him in a headlock, pretty much stopping him from struggling before he'd even started. He growled as Tails' mocking voice whispered in his ear,

"Right Sonic, you got a choice; say 'Tails, I'm eternally sorry for forcing you to go shopping with me and Amy', or face the consequences!"

"When I get free, I'll show you what consequences are" the hedgehog vowed, bracing himself for the worst whilst simultaneously trying to shake Shadow off his legs. No luck, the black hedgehog had him in a grip of iron as Tails silently wetted a finger, grinning like a chimp as he imagined Sonic's reaction,

"Okay, you asked for it. Wet willie of doom!"

"Yeeearrgh", Sonic bucked like a bronco as he felt the kit's finger push into his ear, "you are a dead fox" he screamed as Tails and Shadow both laughed.

"So much for the unflappable hero" Shadow quipped as they both let go at the same time, Tails bolting for the spare room and slamming the door as Sonic, bellowing like a rogue elephant, tore after him. He crashed into the door as manic laughter could be heard from the other side.

"You can't stay in there forever!"

"I'm…gonna try", Tails gasped, trying to contain himself, "I'm safe and you can't get me. Na-na-nana-na!" Sonic let out a cry of rage before turning to the second guilty party.

Shadow had an ace up his sleeve as the other hedgehog approached, but he was still a tad worried – he could nearly see his friend breathing fire. Sonic's red face clashed with his blue fur, giving him a quite patriotic look if you were from the right country. The hedgehog wasn't really angry at Tails per se; his ego simply demanded he get even with the smart fox and his partner in crime. Sonic brought himself up short, speaking in a calm voice that nonetheless suggested attempted murder wasn't too far from the hedgehog's mind,

"You have to the count of three to tell me why I shouldn't kill you." Shadow put on a worried face.

"Well, the thing is…"

"One." Sonic held up one finger, clenching his other hand into a fist.

"…he sort of forced me into it but…"

"Two." The hedgehog was gearing up to spring; Shadow decided to play his ace, holding up a slim bit of metal,

"…I've got the key to the spare room".

Silence. For a second all was still before an audible gulp penetrated the spare room door. Sonic looked bemused for a second before grinning maliciously, taking the key from Shadow's outstretched hand and turning back round.

"Oh Miles", he said in a sing-song voice, "what was that about being safe?" Shadow chortled, picturing the expression Tails was probably wearing right about now.

"Uhh, Sonic, please, it was just a joke, don't kill me" the fox pleaded as Sonic inserted the key into the lock.

"Oh don't worry, I won't kill you", the hedgehog promised as the lock clicked and he pushed against the door; Tails must have been desperately leaning against it to keep it shut, "not at first anyway".

"No, mercy; Shadow, I'll get you for this!"

"Sorry man, it was you or me" the ultimate life-form chuckled as Sonic finally forced the door open, advancing on the kit menacingly. Tails gulped again and closed his eyes,

"Monkey scrub?" Sonic shook his head as he laced his fingers and cracked them, relishing the panic Tails was in,

"Oh no, that's far too good for you". Tails looked up confused,

"What the…", Shadow saw him go pale as he looked up at Sonic's face, "no, anything but that, help!" he pleaded as Sonic roared,

"Tickle attack!" and pounced. Shadow left them to it as he settled down and switched the T.V on, trying to listen over Tails' hysterical shrieks and Sonics' admonishing of the young kit. Despite himself he smiled; he knew that Sonic and Tails loved each other like brothers. That didn't stop them annoying the living hell out of each other though, just like brothers should.

Journey in easy. Target building in sight. Grapple caught well. Climb completed minutes ahead of schedule.

The room was dark, the only sounds present were gentle snores as both Nack and Rouge slept, completely dead to the world, neither one suspecting that the Mobian hunting them already had his target marked and was preparing to spring.

"He's not dead is he?" Shadow asked innocently as Sonic moved into the lounge of the apartment they shared; "ah, obviously not", he added as he caught sight of a completely out of breath Tails. The fox's flanks heaved as he worked on a sarcastic rejoinder,

"Oh, just great. I owe you one Shadow the Hedgehog". Tails glared venomously as he slumped down into a cushioned seat and Sonic smiled in triumph,

"Hey little bro, you brought that on yourself. You should know by now; you just can't beat the unbeatable". The hedgehog gave his trademark victory smile as Tails tried to frown at him. The fox just couldn't hold it though and eventually smiled,

"Whatever, just admit it; I got you good first".

"Okay, you got me good, but you deserved that shopping trip, embarrassing me like that". Shadow leant forward, curiosity piqued,

"What was this; I missed this bit. What happened?"

"Tails told Amy he thought I liked her".

"So, that's true isn't it?" Gotcha, Shadow thought as Sonic turned a dark look on him and shook a fist; the blue hedgehog was so easy to wind up when it came to that girl.

"You want some of this mate; no, it's not true. Of course, Amy went off on one and dragged me off shopping. Tails tried to sneak off and I didn't let him; if I suffered, so did he. He started it anyway". Shadow nodded solemnly,

"Well, you suffered for the cause dudes; no-one makes chilli-dogs like Amy can". That statement broke the mood as all three agreed. All of them watched a little T.V before Tails yawned and stretched,

"You want the spare room Tails?" Shadow offered, noting the fox's tired expression.

"Yeah, it's too late to get back to the Ruins. Mind…"

"You don't need to ask" both hedgehogs answered simultaneously, Shadow standing up and moving to get some bedding for the spare bed. Sonic smiled at his oldest friend, offering his hand,

"Hey Tails, still pals?" The fox clasped the pro-offered paw, echoing his friend's smile as he replied,

"You bet, but I still got you better than you got me". Sonic chuckled and nodded, noting the spark in Tails' eyes; he didn't know what he'd do if the fox he'd known since his childhood ever lost his bubbly personality. It was the single, main thought that motivated him; in all the years he'd been fighting his enemies, whenever he'd hit rock bottom and felt he couldn't go any further the thought of Tails, his only family, had caused him to grit his teeth and carry on. He owed the fox a debt he could never pay; if the two of them hadn't met, he reckoned he'd have probably ended up beaten on the field of battle, just another victim of Robotnik's megalomania. He needed Tails; without him, it would have been like missing an arm, there would have been no point in fighting the way he did. Tears threatened to spill out of his eyes at these memories, so he smiled and gave a tug, reminding himself of why it was worth it.

The hedgehog pulled suddenly and Tails found himself engulfed in an embrace which he reciprocated; Sonic was the only family he'd ever known and had been equal parts father, mother and elder brother to the young fox. Tails didn't think he'd never be able to repay Sonic for what he'd done but as he felt the hedgehog's heart beating, just as he had when Sonic had rocked him to sleep despite the childhood nightmares, he vowed he'd try his hardest. Shadow, returning with an armful of laundry, noticed the two having a 'family moment' and quietly headed for the spare room alone; he was close to the pair of them, but nowhere near as close as the two were to each other. He didn't begrudge them; as an outsider, he could see that the two needed each other; Tails benefited from the hedgehog's devil-may-care attitude and recklessness in the face of danger while Tails' level head and intelligence were the perfect foil for the blue blur.

He frowned a little; he thought he had been close to someone, once upon a time, before the accident – he put a hand to his head and strained to remember, but no, there was nothing there, just darkness that he couldn't penetrate no matter how hard he tried. Sighing, the midnight hedgehog shrugged; if he couldn't remember the past, he was damn well going to enjoy the present.

The two Mobians eventually released each other and let out a simultaneous sigh. Both smiled, but Sonic spoke first,

"Thanks Tails; remember you've always got a place here if you need it".

"I know Sonic, and thanks", the kit replied, smile broadening, "soon, I'll be able to make you the same offer". The hedgehog chortled and rubbed the fox's ears, remarking,

"My little bro's growing up; go on, you better get to bed, it's nearly eleven. Goodnight Tails". The fox winked and shot a finger-gun at his elder brother,

"Right back at you bro, see you in the morning". The fox headed for his bed, nodding at Shadow as he passed the black hedgehog in the hall. Shadow re-entered the lounge, noting Sonic standing up and stretching,

"You turning in as well?"

"Yeah, could do with an early night. You?"

"Nah, not for a bit, I want to catch the news first".

"Catch the news; you couldn't catch a cold". Shadow raised an eyebrow,

"We'll see about that tomorrow".

"Count on it; see ya Shads".

"Later Sonic".

Alone in the darkness, something sprang forward over what looked like a suicide jump between two apartment blocks. If anyone had been in the alley to look up, they would have seen an uncontrolled plummet quickly revert to a gentle glide as a small parachute deployed and the controller steered gently into the side of the furthest apartment block. With precision timing, a pair of feet touched down on the windowsill of one of the apartments; he had landed and no-one had heard a sound.

The window was slightly open. Needed a small wire. Just a little longer.

As the weather was a little warmer than normal for the time of year, he'd seen the window had been left slightly ajar but locked. However, window locks weren't designed to be unbreakable and no-one knew that better than the figure now crouched over thirty feet in the air, resting on a six-inch windowsill. With minute precision a tiny wire, no thicker than a hair clip, was gently threaded under the gap in the window and, after a few tries, into the window lock. Unlocking the window was difficult; more a matter of luck than anything else, so it was at least quarter of an hour of cramped, uncomfortable work before the lock clicked and the window could be eased open. With a shift of footing, a very slight creak and a rush of displaced air, the shadow at the window swung itself into the apartment.

Nack's whisker twitched as a tiny puff of air toyed with it; damn place is falling apart the bounty hunter grumbled before sleep swallowed him again.

There was no sound as the shadowy assassin's booted feet sank into the carpet of the hallway. Silently sliding the window shut, senses keener than the edge of his Spyder strained to try and catch the faintest hint he'd been detected. There was nothing, just gentle snores coming from the bedroom. As a tiny pack of moonlight crept out from behind the overhanging cloud, a sinister silhouette was formed as the figure crept silently forwards, the silver light highlighting the black leather of his uniform and face-hugging mask. After placing an ear to the bedroom door and assuring himself there were no surprises lurking in there, the figure pushed the door slowly forwards.

Rouge's ear flicked; under normal circumstances that may have awakened the spy, but a heavy jetlag was not normal circumstances. So she slept on, unknowing and unsuspecting the fate that would befall her.

There. Target in bed.. Cut off the air and render the target senseless. Leave the mark. Another grudge would soon be settled.

Moving in the deepest darkness the bedroom had to offer the Mobian moved forwards, eyes never leaving the bed where the target was sleeping. Silently, mere feet at a time, the ground was covered until the dark stranger was stood next to head of the bed, pausing and immobile for a second, maybe deciding on the best course of action to subdue the target. A single arm, swathed in black leather, reached forwards, so slowly it appeared to be stationary, moving as gradually as a stalactite grew. There was a sudden shift in the blanket as the target rolled over.

Nack tossed and turned, lost too deeply in sleep to register anything meaningful. He was never aware of the danger as it reached out to claim him.

The arm stopped suddenly; its master scrutinising the sleeping form before it.

This was incorrect. The target was a bat, not a hedgehog. This was the last known address of the target. Target relocation since information gathered unlikely. More data required. Harming innocents is illegal. The law can not be broken.

Just as slowly as it had advanced, the figure's arm withdrew, the glove covering the hand slowly retracting into a fist. Regarding the mislabelled target, the figure gave a single, shallow nod; the mission parameters had now been altered. This was no longer a take, it was a deep reconnaissance of the target's base of operations. The primary objective was to uncover the current location of the target, all other information was useful but expendable. Removing itself from the bedroom, the would-be kidnapper quietly closed the door, leaving Amy Rose sleeping as soundly as she had been when he arrived.

Moving more quickly now, though time wasn't really a problem, the hunt began. Draws and cupboards were silently opened and quickly given a professional rifling. Dexterous fingers rapidly shuffled unimportant papers, sifting the information necessary for the mission to be completed. This was insufficient; though useful, there was nothing showing the current location of the target. Leaving the kitchen, the professional burglar moved swiftly into the living room, where trained eyes quickly fell on the telephone. Or more specifically, the notepad at the side of the telephone. On the topmost piece of paper was a single sentence; this read:

_Rouge emergency – 07909 635678 (only if really desperate!)._

This was enough. A mobile telephone could be traced easily. The mission was a success. No reason to remain here.

After memorising the number, there was a quick flurry of movement and a muted whump as the opened window was opened as fully as possible. An acrobatic twist later and the window was replaced, slightly ajar. The window couldn't be relocked but that was probably irrelevant; if the hedgehog noticed, she would most likely assume she'd failed to close the window properly. There was minimal risk of discovery. A mental check failed to highlight any possible errors, so the parachute was used again and the figure glided silently to the alley below. There was still work to be done before the night ended.

In the tiny, cramped apartment on the other side of town some time later, a tiny green light glowed for a second as a low buzzing filled the air. Neither Nack nor Rouge was aware of the phone ringing before, as swiftly as it had begun, it was stifled. At a deserted industrial complex, blackened fingers flickered like fire across a keyboard, the GPS information homing in on the signal from the receiving mobile phone. A continent became a country, which became a region, which became a city – a swift mouse click brought up a highly detailed 3D map of the city – and eventually a single building was highlighted. After noting the address, the laptop was shut down and the satellite link closed.

The target is still within the city parameters. This will make the reconnaissance less difficult. Rest for now. The reconnaissance will be completed tomorrow evening. This mission is accomplished successfully.


	6. Hunted in the Darkness

Chapter 5 – Hunted in the Darkness.

The light streaming in from his window was shining right into his eyes. Nack really, _really_ didn't want to get up; he was still soooo sleepy and the bed was warm and comfortable, but he couldn't sleep with the light that direct. Gritting his teeth and groaning inwardly, the weasel pulled himself upright, rubbing his eyes to try and clear the accumulation of sleep from them. His poor, heavy head rolled on his neck, cracking in a variety of unpleasant ways, reminiscent of a pair of hobnail boots trampling over gravel. Shrugging off the covers reluctantly, Nack pulled himself out of his pit and stretched all the parts of himself he could decently stretch in female company. He winced; apparently he had developed a severe and advanced case of rigor mortis at some stage last night – every joint in his body went off like a firecracker. Groaning again, the weasel glanced down at the still slumbering form of Rouge; the bat was still completely dead to the world. _She always was a heavy sleeper_ he recounted as he lit up a smoke and wondered about breakfast.

"Good morning sir, how may I help you?" The hippo at the counter had that perfectly chirpy, help-everyone attitude that tended to divide people into two polar groups; those that loved the attitude and those that wanted to strangle the person afflicted with it. Nack fell into the latter category but normally had enough self-control to ignore the voices urging him to do things to the ever-helpful chumps. Bad things that usually involved a heavy club and enough room for a decent swing. However, with the recent events gnawing away at his nerves, it was proving an uphill battle to keep his hands down. He growled something along the lines of 'here' and handed the clerk his grocery tray. Unfortunately, the hippo didn't seem to be able to recognise a cue for silence if it sat up and bit him,

"You're a bit down; anything I can do?" Despite himself, Nack gave a nasty, ironic smile,

"No, not unless you've got the bottle to look Death in the eye and spray his skull pink". The hippo whistled as he continued with his job,

"Sounds like you're in trouble"; that did it utterly, the weasel snapped completely.

"Trouble, I'll tell you about trouble. Trouble is having one of your friends snatched and then finding out someone you thought was dead was behind it. Trouble is trying to think of a way to save your own arse from being snatched next. Trouble is knowing what's happening is your fault because you screwed up years earlier. That is trouble; can you help with that?" Much as he knew he shouldn't have done it, the weasel loved the look of imbecilic shock now stuck to the chunky store assistant's face.

"Errr, ummm…"

"No; didn't think so. Now keep the change". The weasel stormed brusquely as he marched out the store. Despite himself, he smiled viciously as he recounted that exchange; damn it had felt good!

Another person to rise later than usual was Shadow the hedgehog; oh great, just what he needed – bed hair. The hedgehog kicked out of bed, grabbing his towel from where it hung on his wardrobe. He needed a shower both to wake up and to cure his hair problem. Luckily, he'd restocked his shampoo collection not so long ago, so the hair problem could be quickly rectified. Shadow casually sauntered towards the bathroom, slipped off his shoes and clambered into the bath, checking the mat was down so it wouldn't slip underfoot. He drew the curtain round and hit the power button, awaiting the spray of revitalising H2O.

A sudden scream echoed round the apartment causing Sonic to snort into his cereal and Tails to smile wickedly. A latch unbolted, there was the sound of beating feet and Shadow, dripping wet with a wrapped towel covering his modesty, was framed in the kitchen door.

"All right", he spoke softly through chattering teeth, "which one of you jokers turned the shower down to ice water?" His companions simply grinned and exchanged a high-five, leaving the freezing hedgehog fuming. He glared and spun on his heels, heading back towards the bathroom. That was dumb; he should have expected something like that after the actions of last night. He stepped back into the shower, remembering to turn the heat up this time and shivered as a blast of water hit him for a second time. It was hot, hotter than he thought, so hot…

_Falling, falling into heat, waiting for the end, but it never came, just falling. His lips moved, but he couldn't hear his own words as his vision faded…_

Shadow gasped, his knees turning to water as the memory surged through him. He tried to recover but it was too late; he fell forwards, catching the edge of the bath with his thighs and pitching out of it, the water flying all over the bathroom as he let out a startled yell. Pain blossomed in his shoulder as he hit the tiled floor, though his fall was cushioned by the mat. He heard the door open and Sonic's voice,

"Hey, whoa, easy Shadow", the blue blur stooped to steady him, noticing the black hedgehog's pale face and shallow breathing, "What happened?"

"Falling, I was falling, it was hot" Shadow mumbled, mind racing to try and remember anything else, but no; aside from that fleeting glimpse, there was nothing. Frustrated, he growled,

"Damn it, what the hell's wrong with me. Just flickers, that's all I've got, no past and no memories. I can't deal with this right now…"

"Yes you can", he was cut off in full flow by Tails, the young fox's voice suffused with assurance, "the doctors said that this would happen; that's why you're living with Sonic. If enough of these flashes occur, you'll be able to draw a picture of your past". Tails was concerned but managed to hide it. He felt a great deal of relief as the midnight hedgehog calmed down and took a deep breath, thanking him with his eyes.

"Yeah, you're right Tails, like usual. I think I'll finish my shower and then note this down. Now shoo, I need some privacy".

"Want anything for when you're done?"

"Yeah; coffee and plenty of it". Tails nodded,

"How'd you take it?"

"Just like me kid", Shadow straightened up proudly, "dark, strong and sweet". Tails had to fight down a smile as he nodded and backed out the room, followed by Sonic. Shadow shut the door behind them both and returned to his ablutions.

"How's he been?" Tails asked with a worried look as he heard the shower start up again. His elder brother shrugged, weighing things up in his mind,

"Fine, but that's been his first flash in a while. He'll note it in that diary of his and try to remember more", the blue hedgehog looked pensive as he flicked the switch of the kettle, "I just wish there was more we could do to help" he admitted, shaking his head. Tails shared the concerns of his brother,

"Yeah, I know what you mean, but all we can do is just wait and see really".

"Waiting's never been a pastime of mine", the hedgehog joked, carefully moving a spoonful of coffee into a large mug, "still, just wait for him to finish then run you home, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, I need to get back; my baby needs me", the fox said in a distraught voice, "all cold and alone without me". A sudden thought flashed through Sonic's mind and he seized it,

"I didn't know Cream had moved up there", he smirked as Tail's mouth fell open and a light blush spread up the fox's white muzzle, "oh, touch a nerve did I? Something going…"

"No!" the fox exclaimed, turning away in embarrassment. _Damn, Sonic'll tease me for weeks about this!_

Shadow hurriedly dried himself off, wanting to note the memory down while it was still fresh in his mind. He moved into his bedroom and pulled out a notebook, about the size of an A5 pad. In the front of this book was written what looked, to him, like a fantastic story, but what Sonic and the others assured him was his past as they remembered it. He read down until he found the part he needed, then turned to an as yet unsullied section of the notebook and took out a pen.

_17/06/ - Today had another memory, I was falling and it was hot all around me. Happened when the shower was turned up too high and the water hit me. May be linked to fall through atmosphere, but I'm still not convinced. Still not enough to link memories together, but I might be making slow progress – just wish it would hurry up!_

The black hedgehog sighed, snapped the pad shut and set down his pen; now he needed a decent coffee and a morning run to clear his head.

Following the fiasco of the food court, Nack was not a patient Mobian, so when he got back to his apartment to find Rouge still asleep, he decided to wake her up by the most direct route possibly. He nudged the sleeping bat with his toe, increasing the pressure slowly until a hand shot out and grabbed his foot. Rouge turned her head up to the weasel and murmured something about not tickling her when she was trying to sleep. Nack simply didn't care,

"Look princess, you've just had a lie in – enjoy it 'cause it's going to be the last one you'll get in a while. Now eat something; I'm going for a shower". The weasel flounced off before Rouge could come up with a decent retort, so the bat shook herself off and dipped her hand into the bags the weasel had dumped by her makeshift boudoir. She settled for a decent bar of something just about edible as she heard the shower switch on. She finished her ready-made meal just as Nack stepped out of the bathroom, water still clinging to patches of his fur. He grabbed something and proceeded to begin eating as Rouge looked at him squarely,

"Right, let's get on with this".

"Cheers Sonic, see you round Shadow".

"You bet Tails; call us when the Tornado's ready for a spin".

"Sure thing, have a good run you two". The fox waved as he stepped inside his workshop, seeking the right tools to allow the work on his beloved plane to continue. The hedgehogs watched as he disappeared,

"First one home wins?"

"Loser cooks dinner?"

"You're on".

"Go!" With a double boom, twin trails of dust were kicked up in their wakes as the competing hedgehogs pushed themselves to the limits to try and best the other.

The day was mostly silent; the Mobians associated with the Sonic crew went about their business as they had done for as long as they remembered. There was only one exception; Rouge the bat was engrossed in conversation with her partner, trying to come up with a solution that would save them both.

"We can assume he's in Station Square somewhere; should we go after him, it's the last thing he'd expect".

"Yeah, but its suicide", Nack broke that idea dead, "you never worked with Seraph in the guild, you don't know what he's capable of but I'll tell you this – he's not going to be surprised by anything we do". Rouge lent forwards,

"You worked with him?"

"Yeah, I did", Nack grimaced as though biting a lemon, the sour memories bubbling back to the surface as he remembered, "you knew our rules about honouring a contract?" Rouge gave a dismissive snort,

"Er, yes that was kinda the first thing I was taught". Nack nodded and smile, one hand fingering something in his pocket, imagining her reaction in a few minutes,

"Right, well I remember this time our backer told us to sort out this woman who'd been making his life difficult. He said pain, but nothing life-threatening. Seraph took the job on, I was told to clean up after him. The target was a wolf in her mid-twenties with a history of martial arts. We were given the address; Seraph slipped in and I came in five minutes later", he pulled the photo from his pocket, "Seraph was long gone, but in five minute he did this to her". He offered the photo. Rouge took one look and struggled to control her stomach.

The photo showed a kitchen environment, but it was what was at the centre that was of interest. The wolf was down and Rouge doubted there was an inch of her that hadn't been pulverised by a relentless, savage assault. She'd been in the wars before, but no, never anything like this; this was just plain brutality. The bat made a conservative estimate of the wolf's injuries but quickly gave up, partially because there wasn't enough information and partially because she really didn't want to know. She handed the photo back, hand shaking and body numb. Nack noticed her look and nodded,

"Yeah, I damn near hurled my guts up when I saw it, but he honoured the contract…"

"You call that a contract, that's, that's indefensible", Rouge was horrified by what the weasel was saying, "I'm surprised she survived at all".

"She did; there was virtually no severe damage, she was out of hospital in a week", Nack fanned himself with his hat, "see, Seraph was a loose cannon, but he honoured a contract to the letter. Pain, but nothing permanent".

"When was this done?"

"About two months before we all split up; we knew something was going wrong with him and the jobs were getting nastier, but we had no idea how serious it was. We'd have split earlier if we had", he assured her, standing up and walking to break the tension, "sorry to show you that, but you had a right to know what we're up against. Seraph doesn't quit and he never failed a mission for the guild; I don't think he's going to start now". Rouge didn't answer immediately, she was still in a haze of shock. Compared to that, her fights with Knuckles had been nothing but playground tussles; if he could do something like that in minutes, Rouge shuddered, not wanting to think about what would happen if they were caught.

"Any ideas?" she whispered, more to break the silence than anything,

"No", Nack admitted, shaking his head, "I've been around, but I'm nothing on this guy. He's a meat-grinder. Have you got anyone that could help?"

That question got Rouge thinking; the others might help her if she asked. They had all teamed up to beat the Metal Overlord so they might help her against this threat. The idea was appealing, but as she looked at the photo a second time, she shook her head,

"Yes, but I'm not getting them involved in this, not unless there's no other way".

"No other", Nack was absolutely floored by this statement, "Rouge, this is not a game; this guy's a stone-cold killer…"

"Exactly", the bat's tone was low and poisonous as she held up the photo, "that's why I'm not getting them involved; could you live with yourself if something like this happened to your friend? I'm a long way from perfect but I'm not completely heartless, Nack". The weasel drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, closing his eyes as he let logic sort the problem out,

"Right, I understand, but bear in mind things are probably going to go downhill at a rapid rate of knots, savvy? We may need every friend you've got before this is over".

"I know; that's what scares me".

The sun went down; the time was ripe for the nocturnal predator to act. As always, a selection of tools was made carefully and a last minute review of the target was made. When the preparation was complete, he began moving, quietly picking the simplest route into the sleepy city and sticking to the path with relentless efficiency. To a casual observer there was simply nothing to observe; a rush of air, a quiet set of footsteps and then nothing. It was as though he walked between worlds; alone, isolated and unseen, the trappings of a perfect hunter. In his previous missions, either to gather information, take a target or inflict harm, most of his targets had seen only darkness, felt the blistering of a harsh angel's caress, then when they reacted; darkness there and nothing more. As always, if any emotions were felt by the grim figure, the mask he wore concealed them.

In a desperate attempt to try and prepare themselves the two former guild members were burning the midnight oil to try and understand their implacable foe and his most probably route of attack but were running into brick walls all the way. As Rouge had said, there was not enough information for them to make a decent breakthrough.

"We don't know what he looks like, his methods, his likes, his fears or anything", Rouge sighed in deep frustration, "we don't even know what damned _species_ he is, if he's not a human. Oh what the hell are we doing; I reckon we should just wait for him to show up and pray we get lucky".

"Much as I hate to agree with it, it's the only choice we've got right now" Nack gave a worried smile, "just as well I added some extra features to this, place". The weasel looked questioningly up at the bat as her ears pricked up and her eyes glazed slightly. She snapped back into action as Nack trailed off,

"Yeah, I'm glad about that, real life saver that was" she said in a louder than normal voice, putting her finger to her lip as Nack made to speak. She closed her eyes and Nack saw her ears twitching as he held his breath. Her eyes re-opened and he saw her take a deep breath as she beckoned,

"You know you said things were going downhill?"

"Yeah" the weasel whispered back, not entirely sure where she was going with this,

"It's started", she said simply before pointing, "something big just landed on that window and is looking in".

**A risk, but an acceptable one. A second mistake that may have resulted in a broken law could not be allowed. The noise should have been sufficient to alert a bat. A visual identification should become available soon.**

Nack's head snapped round so fast he cricked his neck, inwardly thanking the Lord he'd actually drawn the curtain following the morning. Gesturing for Rouge to stay back, the weasel approached the suspect curtain; he couldn't hear anything but as the other species said, in the world of the blind, the bats ruled supreme. He flattened himself against the wall, reaching for the curtain with a single hand; the angle between curtain and wall was too acute to see anything. Gingerly, he gripped the curtain edge.

**Now.**

Rouge heard a heavy thump against the window and sprang up, her mind full of visions of splintering glass allowing Seraph – _who else could it be_ – to get to her. Simultaneously, Nack jumped back, startled as a second hit rattled the glass. The bat and weasel nearly ran into each other, looked and nodded together; if this was going to happen, two had a better chance than one. There was third hit, followed by a sharp crack and both sprang forwards, yelling and tearing the curtain aside.

**An unexpected development. Both remaining targets present. Potential benefits and drawbacks. Evidence sufficient. No advantage in attacking now.**

Rouge's blood was up as she bounded forwards, expecting a blood and thunder fight to the finish. She might not have won but this Seraph prick was going to know he'd been in a fight. As the curtain was thrown aside, she obtained her first look at her harasser.

Strangely she was unimpressed; there was a figure, seemingly dressed all in black, crouched on the sill, attempting to peer in. Their bodies blocked out the light and the spider-web of cracks running along the glass made it difficult to make out specifics, but with a push off, he was gone. The would-be attacker simply dropped, falling a storey to the floor. Rouge was initially horrified, envisioning at the least broken legs, but Nack reacted first; wrenching the window open, the weasel ducked his head outside, glanced around before cursing and pulling the window shut. He turned to her,

"Can't see a damned thing, it's too dark. We're moving out, first thing. We gotta get some distance from this bastard". Rouge nodded, adrenaline wearing off and allowing her to think a bit more clearly. Seraph could have shattered that glass with one hit and been in; something didn't add up. The bat sat down, putting the scene in perspective; something had stopped him coming in. The fact there were two of them? Possible, even the best fighters prepared to scrap on even terms. That made sense, except then…oh no! She couldn't have been as dumb as that, of course she had.

"DAMMIT!"

Nack, still jumpy from the narrow escape, leapt to face her, hands clutching his heart. His eyes narrowed in anger at the sudden shout,

"Geez girl, you tryin' ta give a heart attack? You're goin' the right way about it". Rouge looked up, a weary expression that aged her pretty face ten years etched on,

"Nack, wait there and think; if you wanted to get my attention from there, and couldn't talk to me, how would you do it?" The weasel knitted his brows; what the hell kind of question was that? An easy one, that was true,

"Easy, I'd give a signal or a tap and…" he stopped dead as the realisation dawned, then screwed his eyes up, "oh I don't believe it".

"Believe it; we just got played for suckers. Attacking wasn't the plan, he wanted to see us and check we were here". In her mind, the bat was forced to give credit where it was due, that was a smart, efficient move she'd have been proud of. She just couldn't believe she'd fallen for it. Neither, it seemed, could Nack,

"Of all the stupid things I coulda done, argh. We've just blown this wide open; if he didn't know we were together before he does now and he's got visual I.D on us". Which had, of course, been the whole point of the exercise he grudgingly admitted; damn that was a cheap way to do it.

**This distance was adequate; there was no sign of a pursuit. The situation had changed, neither for better or worse. It had just become potentially more volatile. The purple weasel triggered a memory. Research was necessary to assess the potential threat of the two targets combined. Also the potential for secondary interference from possible friends and/or family. Return to base and rest; the identification was confirmed and the hunt could progress.**

"Well, where are we going now; you know this place better than me". The two didn't discuss splitting up, that would have been playing right into their stalker's hands. Rouge huffed,

"Yeah, but I'm not into the sort of placed you seem to frequent" the bat glanced around the room once more as Nack gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, but it's not like we've a choice". In his mind, the weasel was trying to figure out how Seraph had known to come here. The chances of him finding out by accident were so remote they could be discounted straight away, so it was probably bribery or something else. His attention wavered as Rouge called out to him,

"What you looking for a decent place to hide out?"

"A heavily fortified bunker on a remote island somewhere, preferably with enough grub to survive a nuclear holocaust and enough firepower to start World War three". The weasel snorted in jest, amused despite himself. A shame really, by turning back to his private thoughts, he missed the look on Rouge's face as the solution to their problem slapped her square in the face. _Island!_

Isolated, secluded, sheltered.

Safe.

But that would mean…she growled as she envisioned herself soon dining on a fat wedge of humble pie; he'd milk this for all it was worth, and having Nack there wouldn't help the cause. Still, Angel Island was the best hope they had at the minute and she'd rather be force-fed a misanthropic echidna's mockery than her own teeth any day. She sighed, putting her head in her hands and preparing her phone for a call.

"Hey babe", she felt rather than saw Nack approach, his tone more gentle now, "I was jus' funnin', no need to get uptight wimme". She looked up and smiled resignedly,

"Don't worry Nack; I'm not upset", she stood and prepared her phone, heading for the bathroom, "in fact, I think I've got the perfect place". The weasel's eyes widened,

"Really, that's great! Hey, where you goin'?" he queried as she vanished into the bathroom.

"Arranging transport" she answered, pressing send and holding her phone to her ear as she slid the door shut. Nack sat down, bemused as the bat remained closeted away for minutes before re-emerging, happy as she snapped the cell closed.

"Yes, got it; we'll be out of here tomorrow". For the first time since the decoy, Nack grinned,

"Awesome; you got friends in high places?"

"Certainly helps", the bat smirked, settling down on the bed, "mine now, right?"

"Yeah right, after your watch". Rouge shot upright, mouth open,

"What, why do I get first watch?"

"I went shopping; wake me at midnight, we leave at six" the weasel growled, suddenly tired as the strain broke through to him. Rouge nodded, standing as he crawled under the sheets,

"Nack?"

Yeah?"

"Just two things; try any funny stuff while I'm under and I'll rip your arm off". The weasel considered this statement, seemingly weighing up the pros and cons before answering,

"Okay, sounds fair".

"And two; don't call me babe!"

"Whatever".

The preparations were set for the escape; all they needed was a little luck and an early start to be free. However, there was just a single, tiny glitch in this otherwise flawless plan. So small, it would have slipped under almost any radar, even ones as careful as the treasure hunters'.

Rouge had forgotten to check her missed calls.


	7. Packing Up and Breaking Down

Chapter 6 – Packing Up and Breaking Down.

It was a beautiful morning; no matter how many times the sun shone over the mountains, he never got bored of the spectacle. Giving a long, luxurious stretch, Knuckles the Echidna flipped off the shrine to the Master Emerald and gave a huge yawn. The air was crisp and clear as the renowned emerald guardian tracked up to his favourite hillock, bounding from tree branch to tree branch as though he'd been born to it. Which, he reminded himself, he had; the entire island was his playground, its bounty his and his alone and all its secrets his to know. Knuckles smiled as the realisation soaked into him, empowering him as surely as the sweetberries he was eating from a single gloved paw.

But, he mused, it was not without its price. It was his ancient and overriding duty to guard the island from all trespassers, and especially prevent its main treasure, the Master Emerald itself, from being perverted to evil causes. He recalled the few times he'd failed in that duty and shuddered; he had sworn a binding oath after the events of the Death Egg that he'd shatter the gem before anyone could take it from him again. Just his luck, not so long after the oath had been swore, he'd been forced to do just that – proof if any were needed that no decision ever goes unpunished. As he crested the top of his hill and checked the wind direction, a smile forced its way to his face as he remembered the complete scramble he'd had trying to recollect the shattered emerald shards. He kicked off, dreadlocks catching the wind and propelling into the air as his mind slipped back.

Though he'd never admitted it, the events that led up to the final battle with the Biolizard and, even after that, the Metal Overlord, had been a real eye-opener for him. Knuckles had never in his life seen a city like Station Square, or ever even dreamed about the possibilities of going into space and boarding a colony like the ARK. It had been painful, desperate and at times downright spine-chilling, but it had been fun for the echidna. That didn't mean he'd repeat it if he had the chance, but he did wish that just on occasion, he'd get the chance to see a bit more of the world than the hundred and fifty or so square kilometres that were traditionally his.

_But there was a second reason, wasn't there? It wasn't just the Emerald that got you into all that danger was it?_ As he glided over his island, keen eyes alert for any kind of trouble, he gave a resigned smile. It was true; concern and duty to the Master Emerald hadn't been the only reason he'd joined up to help save the world on more than one occasion. It might have been the main reason, but it wasn't the only one.

The simple fact was that Knuckles, up until just under two years ago, had held one very firm view on treasure-hunting and adventuring – just don't do it. Just don't; no loopholes, no clauses, no excuses, no nothing. But ever since he'd realised what he'd been up against, he'd just had no choice. At the first sight of Rouge he'd been smitten – much as he'd tried to dismiss it, ignore it and curse it, the fact remained that in his eyes, Rouge was perfect. She was smart, sassy and for the first time, in her iron-shod footwear, Knuckles had an equal in the martial arts. The fights they'd had had tested him to the limit and beyond and the echidna relished it; he loved the challenge of holding off someone who was equal to him in strength and smarts. Still, old pangs resurfacing in spite of himself, the echidna sighed. He was under no illusion that the bat probably hated his guts – he'd stopped her getting her immaculately manicured fingers on the world's largest and most powerful jewel, had hassled and fought her all the way to the ARK and as a final indignity, had saved her life. Knuckles smiled wickedly; sometimes he just wished the bat was here, just so he could rub her face in that fact and watch her squirm. The echidna chuckled on the wing, thinking of Rouge and all the ways he could make life uncomfortable for her.

A dull, repetitive 'whump-whump' noise reached his ears and immediately, the echidna readied himself. All his thoughts went out like lights, replaced by the supernova certainty of intruders. On his island. Maybe after his emerald. Snarling, Knuckles wrenched his head in the direction of the sound, changing direction on a dime. Whoever was dumb enough to set foot on his turf was in for a rude awakening.

Earlier that morning, Nack had been forced to resort to a glassful of cold water to the face to wake Rouge up properly. After calming down, and threatening the weasel with all manner of unpleasant and biologically possible eventualities if he tried that again, Rouge had said to move out,

"Where we goin'?" Rouge slammed her still mostly unpacked suitcase down before replying,

"We're going on a trip somewhere I know; what I don't know is if the jerk who owns the place is going to let us stay". Nack nodded, a confident sneer on his face,

"I'm pretty sure we can persuade 'im to do it".

"I'd love to see you try, but just get ready; we need a cab". Nack's face fell,

"Oh what; I gotta leave me bike down here?"

"Yes", the bat exclaimed in exasperation, "we can't afford to be traced". The weasel didn't like it; he'd had the machine for nearly six years, but needs must when the devil drives he grudgingly concluded.

"Alright fine, jus' lemme get a few things out the pannier first". As Rouge nodded and hefted her case, Nack rushed downstairs, flipping a couple of bills onto the counter that would have more than paid the hotel costs for this shack. He flipped the pannier open and carefully extracted the most important bits; his photos, smokes and a lighter, a couple of energy bars and a strange assortment of metal parts that looked like some blown-up air-fix kit. Satisfied, the weasel took one last, long lingering look at his pride and joy before reluctantly turning away and heading back into the building.

"Just how high up are these friends of yours?"

"Trust me, I don't think you want to know" Rouge answered sweetly, inwardly cracking up at the sight of Nack's hanging jaw and bug eyes. Having caught a cab to a high rise apartment block and then the lift to the very top of the building, the sight of the two-seat helicopter had not unexpected, but still shocking for the bounty hunter, who was used to stowing away in the holds of ships to get anywhere in lean times. Rouge smirked again; she'd had to pull some mighty long strings and think up some spectacular white lies to get hold of this at such short notice, but at the time it had seemed like a price worth paying. Had she known the grilling her boss was going to give her when she got back to work she might tried something a bit less drastic, but now, in blissful ignorance, she was basking in the satisfaction of a job well done. Nack sorted out his jaw and smiled for the first time in what felt like years,

"All right, let's fly this bird and get where we wanna go".

"Just a sec", Rouge took something out of a pocket in her jumpsuit, "put this on". She was holding a slim black strip of material; Nack folded his arms and scowled,

"An' just why do I need to be blindfolded; we're partners, remember?"

"I know that Nack, but it's not me that's the problem", the bat tried to think of the best way to explain, "the guy who owns this island is…", several choice words came to mind but the bat resisted the urge to speak them out loud, "…well, he's got trust issues. If we show him I haven't shown you the way to his pit, we'll have a stronger case in trying to convince him to let us stay". Rouge smiled coaxingly as the scowl deepened, but eventually the weasel snarled and threw up his arms in defeat.

"Oh fine, just let me get the damn thing first".

The flight had been pretty uneventful; Nack had appeared to have dozed off after about thirty minutes, so Rouge had flown the rest of the way in silence. As she gently touched the helicopter down on a relatively flat bit of the island (a good distance for the Master Emerald shrine – every little may have helped) the bat tapped the slumbering weasel on the shoulder.

"Wakey, wakey sleeping ugly, we're here".

"Oh good, wish I could see it" he remarked sarcastically, clambering gingerly out of the helicopter, making sure his feet were on firm ground before taking the blindfold off.

_Batgirl!_ What the hell is she doing here? Knuckle's mind was temporarily short circuited as one of the last people he expected to see on his piece of real estate hopped lightly out the cockpit of the small helicopter. More to the point, who was the other one; Knuckle's face hardened – he'd hardly expected a social call from the bat but hired muscle didn't seem her style. Though, he noticed as he crept closer, he had been blindfolded – what kind of game was Rouge trying to play here? Well, he wasn't going to find out just by sitting here watching.

"Hey, Nack, don't go anywhere" the bat warned as she sat with her legs under her. The weasel turned to her from his position near some trees; he wanted to set up a camp ASAP and get ready just in case.

"Why not; we gotta get ready".

"We're waiting for someone".

"Who?"

"Me" a voice whispered in his ear. Nack yelped and sprang away from the voice, heart rate pumping as he span into a ready stance.

_Well, if that guy is hired muscle her budget must be a bit less than I'd imagined_ Knuckles thought to himself as he watched the weasel try to gather up a scrap of dignity. He'd assessed the potential threat and reasoned that, in a straight fight, he reckoned he'd have the edge of this, Nack character. It was just that Rouge was notorious for not allowing a fair fight that bothered him. Talk of the devil; the bat had stood up and walked towards him, face creased in a cocky smile.

_Don't blush, don't blush_; Rouge repeated the thought like a mantra against severe, possibly terminal embarrassment. Damn Knuckles; even if he did blush at seeing her, she doubted she'd see it due to his fur hue. He was the same as always, taciturn, silent and waiting for her to make the first move.

"Hey Knuckles, long time no see". He folded his well-muscled arms,

"What do you want Rouge?"

"Still as unfriendly as ever Knucklehead; no wonder you never get any visitors".

"My personal connections aren't your concern; you've shown up on my island unannounced with him", he jerked a thumb at Nack, who was eyeing Knuckles with a casual sneer, "for company. I want to know what's going on and you will tell me". It was a simple, concise statement, but you'd have to be deaf not to pick up on the subtle threat in the echidna's voice. Rouge, however, ignored it; if anything, her smile grew ever more disdainful.

"Poor, poor Knucklehead – being alone up here for so long has eroded the few social skills you ever had. Give it another couple of months and you'll be a complete savage, oh sorry forgot, you already are". The bat smirked as she noticed the spark in Knuckle's eye burst into flame; his ego wasn't going to take that lying down.

In actuality Knuckles was a little concerned, but he'd rather be bludgeoned to death with the Master Emerald than admit it. In all the time he'd known Rouge, the bat had always looked immaculate but now she had bags under her eyes and her make-up looked like it hadn't been touched for at least a day or two. Something was wrong here, but he was going to make her tell him what it was rather than ask.

"Well if I'm a savage, answer me this – what does that make someone who needed rescuing by a savage?" Rouge growled as the memory pricked her anger, but forced it down. She opened her mouth, but a second, deeper voice cut in,

"I take it you own this joint then, Knuckles is it?" The echidna glanced around; he'd almost completely forgotten about Rouge's companion. The purple creature fanned itself with the hat it wore as he answered,

"Yep, that's me; Rouge, who's this?"

"Me name's Nack the Weasel kid", Nack was getting a bit annoyed from the ignorance he was receiving, "I'll speak for meself". Knuckles turned to face him, a slight smile on his face,

"Okay Nack, what did Rouge promise you if you joined this little escapade, 'cause I can assure you won't get it. Not while I'm in the way…"

"You could be removed very quickly" a female voice muttered, causing Knuckles to grimace; he should have seen that coming. Nack answered,

"Rouge promised nothing, but she said this island of yours is a good place to hide".

Knuckles ran that sentence through his head over and over, but it just refused to sink in. _A place to hide?_ Oh, right, now it made sense; the echidna grinned broadly and stretched,

"Oh right; who's toes did you tread on this time batgirl? And what possessed you to try and hide here, of all places?" Rouge looked down, gritting her teeth as she prepared to kiss her pride goodbye forever. Swallowing bitterly, the bat looked the echidna square in the eye,

"We, we need your help Knuckles".

_Well wasn't that a kick to the head_… The echidna simply stared, stupefied, as the bat went slightly redder, examining her shoes as she waited for the storm to break. And when Knuckles finally realised what the bat had asked, it broke. Big time.

"Do my ears deceive me", Knuckles began slowly, his grin starting to engulf his face, "or did the mighty, I'm-a-big-bad-treasure-hunter-who's-_soooo_-much-better-than-you Rouge the Bat just ask little savage me for help?" Rouge glowered, face smouldering;_ I'll make you pay for this Knuckles, just give me time to work out how_.

"Yes, I said it, now will…"

"AHHAHAHA", the echidna dissolved, openly mocking her as he pointed with an extended glove, "so, so what was nasty enough to force you to come grovelling to me?"

"I'll tell you that", Nack had had enough of this verbal banter; he marched up Knuckles and thrust a creased photo into his face, "the guy who did this is after us and probably wants us both dead. Now you gonna let that happen or you gonna help?" The photo of the battered wolf stopped Knuckles dead, the warrior snatching the photo and scrutinising it closely. Both Nack and Rouge watched his reaction closely; Rouge in particular paid close attention. She snorted quietly; from the way his face fell and eyes narrowed, she could tell he was thinking similar thoughts to hers when she had first seen it. Maybe she and Knuckles weren't so far different after all. Knuckles carefully gave it back and addressed her again,

"Right, what did you do to deserve this?" There was no sarcasm in his voice; this was a purely business question. That didn't mean she could answer it though,

"I, er, I don't want to tell you that Knuckles".

"Really; that's odd, I thought you wanted my help".

"I do", the words had left her lips before she could control them and she desperately scrabbled for a cover up, "We need your help. But some things I'd rather keep private". Not good, he wasn't going to buy that completely. He had no reason not to simply order them off Angel Island, and she didn't back herself on being able to stop him. She had to offer a compromise,

"I tell you what; if it matters, and hopefully it won't 'cause he won't find us, I'll let you know. Until then, my lips are sealed". Knuckles had a poker face on; he was looking deep into her as though examining her with X-rays. She met and held his gaze; she couldn't back down, too much depended on it. Knuckles nodded as though coming to a decision – she only prayed it was the right one,

"Alright, you can both stay here. Follow me". Without so much as a second glace, the echidna turned and moved back into the bushes. Nack raised his eyebrows and whispered as Rouge brushed past, following the echidna,

"I see what you mean, he's got people problems".

In reality, Knuckles was having trouble coming to terms with what he'd just seen and heard. Originally, he'd just thought it had been a plot by the bat to try and go for the emerald again, but that photo put a whole new spin on things. He fought to protect and defend what was his but that was repugnant; fight to win, not to hurt. He'd also not been able to see any lie in Rouge's eye; not that that meant too much, she could probably fake sincerity as second nature, but it reassured him just the same. In fact, he rather liked this arrangement; if Rouge and her friend were in trouble, he was in the perfect place to try and help out, if she wasn't and this was a plot of some kind, he could at least keep an eye on her. The more he thought of it, the more appealing he found the idea.

Eventually, the echidna stopped and pointed towards something the other two couldn't see. He turned his head and smiled,

"Welcome to your new home" he said with a flourish, "with the latest ensuite and washroom facilities" he added as Rouge and Nack saw what he was pointing at. In fact, it wasn't that bad; there was a small waterfall and shallow pool it fed, surrounded by a stony bank and short grass. Some large rocks provided enough room to sun oneself on. It wasn't bad, but neither guild member believed for one second this was the best their host could do. However, neither was dumb enough to antagonise Knuckles by saying so.

"Cheers", Nack said at last, "this'll do for as long as we need, won't it Rouge?" he said with a stern glance in her direction,

"Yeah, it's fine" the bat said in a bored tone of voice; she'd accept the echidna's help, but she'd be damned if she'd do it gracefully.

"Glad you're happy", Knuckles said dismissively before turning serious, "stay here until I get back, I've got some business to take care of. Oh Rouge, a word with you?" The bat looked up, saw the meaning in Knuckles' eye and followed him slightly away from their impromptu campsite. When he was sure Nack was out of earshot, he stopped and turned towards her, hands on hips,

"How much does he know?"

"Oh Nack's pretty good, he can read, write and I'm pretty sure he can count as well…"

"You know what I meant" Knuckles said sternly, not showing any trace of emotion as Rouge stopped having fun.

"Nothing; no I mean it", she said, slightly hurt at the disbelief on the echidnas' face, "I blindfolded him on the way here; he doesn't even know this piece of dirt's about three hundred feet above sea level". Knuckle's eyebrows rose,

"Really, you blindfolded him all the way here?" That was a bonus, it'd save him having to swear the weasel to secrecy later, "that's saved me a job. Right, I have to go; stay here and just for once, don't wander off and try to stay out of trouble" he said with emphasis on the last words.

"I WASN'T", Rouge began, but it was too late; Knuckles had gone. Rouge took a deep breath, then another, before venting her frustration in a childish, schoolgirl yell.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, KNUCKLES ECHIDNA!"

**Interesting. The research on the targets indicated the situation could become very dangerous. The danger made the mission less likely to succeed. The friends of the bat were many. Records also showed many could use Chaos energy. The correct tools were necessary for success against these possible foes.**

Nack heard the bat's shout and fought to hold a chuckle down; he was currently assembling the big kit he'd brought with him. Soft footsteps behind him caused the weasel to take a break for a few seconds and peer over his shoulder. Rouge was stalking back to the waterfall, face like thunder and kicking at perfectly innocent stones as she worked off her bad mood. Nack smiled; had he ever been that young, once upon a time. Ah, the memories;

"What are you up to?" The cross tone suggested to Nack that not answering would prove detrimental to his health, so he slotted the last piece home and called back,

"Just a little insurance policy I always keep handy". The weasel lit a cigarette up and heard a gasp as Rouge caught sight of what was now nestled in the weasel's lap,

"Is that, what are you doing carrying that around?"

"Like I said, insurance policy", he casually stroked the barrel of his pop-gun, "I don't plan to use it, but if I get a decent shot, Seraph's going to end up missing at least part of his anatomy" he said gruffly. Rouge gave a mute nod, eyes still trained on the gun her companion now carried; she was so focused on it she nearly missed his question,

"So how'd you know Mr Personality then?" Rouge eventually answered after thinking for a few seconds.

"Hmm, oh, I was doing some treasure hunting and came on this island by accident. He showed up and we had a bit of a row". Rouge skipped most of the important bits and Nack either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Oh, right, how long you known him then?" The weasel was picking his moment,

"Just shy of a year now".

"How long you been in love with him?"

Knuckles raced to the Master Emerald shrine; not because he thought it was under threat, but just because it was a place he felt safe and comfortable. It was also a place he could think unmolested. Seeing Rouge again, knowing she could be in danger and she was on his island – did that make her safety his concern? Or was it only the Master Emerald he had to protect, at the cost of all else? He wasn't sure, but anyway he needed to check the recent repairs to the shrine hadn't come loose. He may, in the moments he was being completely truthful, have admitted to himself he had feelings for Rouge, but that didn't mean he was going to turn his back on her for too long.

"WHAT!" Nack howled with laughter at the expression on Rouge's face; he just wished he had brought his camera with him. The bat wasn't sure what she wanted to do; ask the weasel how he'd come to that conclusion, argue furiously with him or just force-feed him his pop-gun. Backwards.

"Wha, you're nuts, I don't…" she gabbled, mouth instinctively reacting before brain.

"Really?" the weasel chortled, gaining moderate self-control again, "then why have you gone red as he is?" Rouge touched her face, and sure enough it was burning up. She snarled; if Nack could be childish so could she, only much better.

"I'm not talking to you any more, not until you apologise for that statement" the bat declared, turning her nose up and walking straight past the weasel. Nack tried to stop himself, he really did, for the sake that he needed Rouge's help against Seraph as much as his own personal health, but in the end he just couldn't help it,

"Awww, young love, so cute and free and…owww!" It might not have been the first promise Rouge had ever broken but as she piled into Nack shrieking a litany of curses that would have made a trooper blanch, it certainly proved to be the fastest.

It was about mid-afternoon when Knuckles returned to the waterfall where he'd left his guests. The echidna had come to a reasonable conclusion; if nothing untoward happened by the end of a week, he'd say the pair should be safe, but the first sign of treachery they'd be off his island too quick to blink. A fairly satisfactory compromise he decided, before a rustle off to his left brought his guard up.

"I told you to stay at the waterfall" he said as he caught sight of the tips of a pair of large, white ears. He scowled, a little disappointed as it seemed Rouge couldn't do anything he asked for longer than a few hours without supervision.

"Oh, hi Knucklehead", the bat stood up, "guessed it was you; you'd never make a spy; you've got club feet" she complained as she swivelled her ears to face him. Knuckles crossed his arms,

"What are you doing here; I…"

"I know, but Nack's getting a shower in the waterfall and I really don't need to see that", she shuddered, causing Knuckles to smile a little, "anyway, I had a favour to ask".

"Two favours in one lifetime", the echidna gave a grin that made the bat's heart flutter a little, though nothing showed on her face, "when you're good you're good". Rouge cocked her head to one side, smiling sardonically.

"If you've quite finished your macho one-upmanship?"

"Nah, give us another couple of minutes", the echidna flexed his arms, just to annoy the bat as she tapped her foot, smiling, "Okay, that'll do for now. Now, you wanted something?" The bat dropped into a fighting stance,

"I need some practice and couldn't fit my punch bag into the chopper. You'll have to do instead" she insisted as Knuckles silently admired her pluck, taking up his usual ready stance and nodding,

"Fair enough, just remember this bag punches back".

"Don't cry if you get hurt".

"Ditto". With a sudden cry and shuffling of feet, both Mobians charged, punches and kicks flowing like water between the two fighters. It was a sort of cross between ballet, a martial arts bout and a street fight; low punches and kicks were gracefully evaded, blocks were capitalised upon and guards repeatedly broken. Unseen by either of the furiously concentrating fighters Nack, having finished his washing, settled down on a comfortable patch of grass and watched casually. He could hold his own in a fight, but these two were better than he was, he could see that even from here. All he wanted now was some soda and a bucket of popcorn…

**The targets were not foolish; their position would have changed following identification. The satellite should be in position by now. The chances were reduced this time, but it was possible for the same method of tracking to be utilised twice.**

A single hand flicked open an brick-sized, archaic model of mobile phone and the other rested within easy reach of a functioning computer. Pressing a few buttons, the figure tensed, primed for action as the receiver rang.

Rouge stepped back, narrowly dodging a strong left cross when something inside her pocket buzzed. The tickling sensation threw her minutely, allowing Knuckles the chance to land a glancing hit before the bat yelled,

"Time out!" The two fighters backed off as Rouge fished her phone out of her jumpsuit pocket, mind still on the fight and eyes on Knuckles as she flicked it open,

"Hello?"

By then the figure in Station Square had nearly enough information to go on; fingers punched the keyboard lightly as the call dragged on. Hundred square miles, fifty, twenty…

Knuckles saw Rouge's brow crease in confusion as she repeated her greeting,

"Hello?" Shaking her head slightly, she took the phone away from her ear, wondering if it was malfunctioning somehow. As soon as she saw it face on, the veteran spy felt her blood freeze. With a cry that sent Knuckles jumping back startled, the bat hurled the phone to the floor then brought the heel of the boot thundering down on it as hard as she could. The resultant crack was like a gunshot, the phone pulped to ruin.

The static in his ear was proof that the gambit had been discovered and neutralised. It had been partially successful, however; the area had been narrowed down to approximately two square miles. Ending the call, the black clad assassin turned towards the area he had to search as displayed by his computer.

**This appeared impossible; the area was approximately a mile out to sea off Station Square peer. The most likely explanation was the target was on a nautical vessel. This escape attempt must not be allowed to succeed. There was little time to waste.**

"DammitblastandbuggermayIburninthefiresofHell" the bat stated, grinding the plastic case to paste under her boot. Knuckles was torn as to what to do; of all the things he'd expected, this was among the least likely. He decided to stay quiet as Rouge shouted for Nack; the weasel arriving with almost indecent haste.

"I saw…"

"It was a trace; the bastard traced my phone", Rouge exclaimed, cursing herself for not realising it earlier, "that's how he knew where we were staying and where to go". The weasel swore as the consequences of this crashed onto Knuckles with a rush of horror,

"Wait, you mean someone knows where Angel Island is now?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean", the bat snapped, more angry with herself than anything else, "Seraph'll be on his way here right now and there's nothing we can do about it". The bat held her head in her hands as Knuckles raised an eyebrow at Nack. The weasel answered his unspoken question,

"Yeah, Seraph's the one after us". Knuckles grimly assessed the situation; unless this was a _really_ elaborate plot to get him to drop his guard, he reckoned he could believe the two reprobates in front of him. More importantly, someone who was almost certainly a threat to his island was on the way with possible murder in mind. He was going to ask how it was possible for the guy to trace a mobile when Rouge stiffened suddenly.

The bat had been thinking furiously and cursing herself for her stupidity; first thing you did if you thought you were being spied on was changed your phone number. That was a rookie's mistake, but then, how did Seraph get hold of her number? The only people who knew it were…

Oh no. Please God and all the saints, no! Anyone but Amy!

Rouge slowly turned to both male Mobians and the horror in her face cut through both of them like a knife. Her face had drained of every drop of blood and her usually full, velvety voice was a harsh croak.

"Knuckles, is there any way to contact Station Square from here?" The echidna thought but Nack answered, holding out his cell phone. The bat had snatched it and dialled furiously, panic lending her speed.

Amy had just got in from the weekly food shop when the phone rang. She quickly arranged the bags so they wouldn't fall and dashed into the front room, snatching the phone up. To her utter surprise, it was Rouge who was speaking.

"Amy, is that you?"

"Yes, hi Rouge; everything alright?" There was a pause as the bat let out the breath she'd been holding, visions of the hedgehog house-sitter lying dead banished from her mind as she tried to control her voice.

"Hi Amy; listen, I need you to check something for me; go round and check all the windows are shut on the first click, okay?"

"Umm, sure. Hang on a sec". The pink hedgehog set the phone down then took off around the house, wondering why on earth Rouge was spoiling her holiday by worrying about something as trivial as that. She was so engrossed in her thoughts she nearly missed it when one of the lounge windows opened at her sudden push. She quickly checked the others then returned to report her findings,

"They're all locked 'cept one in the lounge. Don't worry about it, it's just…" She never got the chance to finish that sentence as Rouge's voice exploded down the line,

"Amy, get out of that building now! It's not safe for you to stay, just pack up and get out! Go to Sonic's, you'll be safe there; just promise me you won't sleep in there tonight". The young hedgehog was shocked, and more than a little scared, to hear something like this. She tried to ask, but was rapidly overridden,

"Never mind, I'll explain when I get back, just promise me!"

"Okay, I promise; Rouge what's going on…" but it was too late. The line went dead, leaving Amy alone and afraid as the evening began to fall.

Rouge silently handed the phone back to the weasel, eyes screwed shut. Nack accepted his appliance back and broke the silence,

"Rouge, what happened? What was…?"

"He broke into my apartment", Knuckles was shocked by the bile in those words; if bottled they could have been used to strip paint, "that's how he got my number. He must have broken in during the night. Amy's house-sitting for me, she's alone", the bat opened her eyes and they were filled with shimmering tears, "he could have done anything to her. Anything. Because of me". She tailed off, breath hitching as Nack slowly removed his hat and kept his breathing steady by force of will. Knuckles clenched his fists; if this was true, this Seraph had threatened one of his friends; if he was on his way here he'd better be ready for Knuckles Echidna.

Rouge was scared and in pain; her alert mind turning against her as it tormented her with possibilities of what could have been. She had lost her trademark sassiness and self-assurance; it was her fault that Amy had been in danger – if the pink hedgehog had been hurt, or even molested; her mind shut off that possibility, granting her at least some relief. It was all too much; the stress and strain she'd recently been exposed to clawed at her barriers, demanding release. She tried to hold back the floodgates, _I don't want to cry in front of him, _but it was hopeless and she broke down utterly, tears falling in a silver rain. In a tiny, vindictive part of her mind, the part of her mind that always told her that no matter how well she did, she should do better, was grinning and sniping maliciously; she'd never be able to look Knuckles in the eye again. That part of her mind was silenced when a gloved hand touched her shoulder.

Contrary to many of his friend's beliefs, Knuckles did have a heart; he was just able to shield it better than most due to his isolation for most of his early life. However, just because it didn't show didn't mean it didn't happen and the sight of Rouge crying over something as big as this was enough to break through even to him. _She's crying because she was afraid for Amy – these are tears split for others_. Unfortunately, his shielded heart meant he had little idea what to do in a situation like this. He glanced round for Nack, but all he could see was the weasel's retreating back; he was on his own and had to make a decision.

Gingerly, acutely aware that if he botched this he'd hurt her even worse, the echidna slowly reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. When she didn't flinch, he moved again, pulling gently and drawing her slowly, ever so slowly, towards him. He started as the bat collapsed against him, tears soaking his shoulder as Rouge cried harder, fingers raking his back fur as she sobbed all the fear, all the worry and all the stress of this week out of herself. The echidna, more terrified than at any time during his fights with her, just froze and let nature run its course, gently stroking her wings and back as the fear wore off slightly. He didn't know how long the two of them stood together, the steel soul of the echidna providing a support for Rouge's weakened one, but eventually the sobs lessened, the tears dried and Rouge looked up.

_He held me; why, after all the hell I've put him through?_

_She lent on me; but she's always been so strong, stronger even than me._

_I shouldn't have done that; I should be stronger than that, but this, feels…good._

_Maybe she'll think I tried to take advantage; she's done it before; it's not true._

_I've thought about him so much, was Nack right earlier?_

_If I hadn't fallen before, I think I just did._

Slowly, Rouge stood upright again, a little dizzy from the effect of the tears. Knuckles let her push off his body, not moving as she ran her hands over her eyes to dry them a little. When she was approaching a state resembling presentable, the bat shook her head and walked back off towards the waterfall. Knuckles headed back towards the Master Emerald shrine.

"Hey Knuckles", the echidna turned to see the bat giving him a weak, watery smile, "thank you". He felt himself returning the smile, more at ease now than he had been for ages,

"Don't mention it". The sound of a gunshot echoed through the air, causing them both to flinch and look for the source of the sound.

Not far away, Nack reloaded his pop-gun and sighted, blasting another small rock to chippings. The weasel's eyes were hard and cold as he reached for another clip. _Just one clear shot, that's all it'll take. One shot and I'll put you in the grave you deserted seven years ago, Seraph!_


	8. Hands of an Angel

Chapter 7 – Hands of an Angel.

The ring of the doorbell coincided perfectly with the musical ting of the microwave. Of course, Shadow and Sonic both dived for the same thing at the same time, resulting in a pile up in front of the kitchen door. The bell rang again as the two tried to disentangle themselves from the organic wreckage

"Just a minute", Sonic called out, just before whispering to Shadow, "man, you're always in the wrong place at the wrong time, Shads". The black hedgehog shot him a poisonous glare as he wrenched his legs free.

"So sayeth the faker; you get the door I'll get dinner" he commanded, scrambling through the kitchen door before Sonic could come up with a retort. Cursing gently under his breath, the Sonic straightened himself up, dusted himself off and set off to the front door. He was curious despite himself; neither of them were expecting company and Tails would have phoned first, so this was a surprise.

"Hi, come on…Amy? What are you doing here?" Sonic was slightly disconcerted at the sight of the pink hedgehog, and even more disconcerted that she was carrying a small suitcase. She looked up at her hero, smiling sadly but making no move to pounce on him as she usually did,

"Hi Sonic, er, can I come in a minute?"

"Sure, um, come on" he beckoned, trying to think what kind of scheme Amy was trying to concoct this time. He was a little concerned by now, both by the fact that Amy had a suitcase and the fact she hadn't leapt on him like she normally did when she called round. He led her into the kitchen as Shadow finished plating up their meals.

"Hey Amy, what brings you here?" the ultimate life-form enquired, eyes straying to her suitcase just as Sonic's had. Amy pulled a seat out for herself and sat down gently, eyes clouded with doubt and worry,

"Well, I got a call from Rouge earlier when I'd just got back to hers. She asked me to check the windows were shut, of all things. I mean, she's supposed to be on holiday after all and…"

"Right, that's interesting but its not really answering the question Amy. What happened next?" Shadow probed, not wanting to get bogged down in extraneous details. Amy looked confused for a second before starting and getting back on track,

"Oh sorry; anyway I checked and one of them was loose. I told her this and she went ballistic", Amy's tone went up as she described Rouge's outburst, "she was like, ordering me out, saying it wasn't safe to stay there. I remember she forced me to promise I wouldn't stay there for the night and said I come here. So, here I am" she finished simply, looking around at her two hosts.

_That wasn't right; from what I remembered of her, Rouge was cool under pressure. Something was wrong here and Amy could be in danger because of it._ Shadow came to a conclusion in the blink of an eye and saw his decision exactly mirrored in Sonic's eyes. He gave a small shrug and moved off,

"I guess you're staying here for a while then, at least 'til Rouge gets back" the black hedgehog said slowly, secretly hoping that Rouge would get in touch soon and clear this mess up. As he turned to prep his curry with salt, Amy leapt up and gave a successful victory pose as Sonic's head sank into his hands.

"Do I get to sleep in Sonic's room?" Shadow was forced to bite his glove to choke back the laughter; it may have been said in innocence but that statement was just priceless. So was the look on Sonic's face; it looked like he'd try to blush and blanch at the same time, resulting in a face like badly mixed strawberry ice-cream. Shadow was forced into damage limitation exercises before the blue hero fainted.

"Sorry no, not unless you've got a flamethrower and machete handy", he managed to say with a straight face, "Sonic has yet to master the art of tidying his room; in fact he's yet to even understand the basics". Amy scowled and turned around, looking up at Sonic as he glared various promises of pain at Shadow.

"Is that so", she seized his arm, dragging him off towards the door, "well we'd better start your learning then; I need to sleep in a tidy room, so let's go". Sonic dug in his heels as he tried to shake her off but failed as the remorseless pink hedgehog slowly ground down his resistance.

"Amy, no really, it's not that bad, Shadow's only having a bit of fun", he gave a pleading glance to the black hedgehog, abandoning any pretence of dignity in the face of being forced to tidy his room, "aren't you Shadow?" There was a twinge of compassion at the blue hedgehog's pathetic expression and he buckled shamefully.

"Well, maybe it's not that bad…" he started, but it was too late; Amy was gone and Sonic's final howl echoed throughout the flat,

"Amy, no I beg mercy, please for the love of God".

"Not a chance, I despise untidiness, so you're cleaning up your act", Shadow's keen ears picked up a door being opened as the female hedgehog began again, "oh this is criminal. Roll your sleeves up Mr Messy; this is going, and this, and this…"

"Nooooo!"

"No good howling like that; go get me some bin bags and a cloth, this is gonna take a while".

The marathon of tidying the hedgehog's bedroom began just as second journey was started; at the Station Square peer, a figure that three Mobians now knew and reviled as Seraph kicked off from the highest building around and began a long journey to the last known position of his prey. A search of the shipping logs had only compounded the flying shadow's previous confusion; no ships had left at the time he'd calculated would have accounted for the position of Rouge's phone. In fact, only one ship had left the port all day, and that had been at half-past five in the morning. The figure had mostly been preparing for most of the day; this was going to be a plunge into darkness fraught with potential enemies. For that matter, a slender bandolier was now clipped across the traveller's back; this bandolier contained a selection of blind, smoke and concussion grenades. His leather armour now seemed to glisten more than normal leather should; a precaution against the nature of his targets. Several tracking devices were positioned within easy reach as he used his chosen transport with the greatest of ease.

A risk was being taken; there was minimal chance of potential rescue should these fail. However, with the final two targets within reach, the risk could be taken.

As the heart of Angel Island pulsed gently, its guardian sat atop it, mind at ease as he let it all flow through him. From here Knuckles could, indirectly at least, feel everything that was happening on his island; it was like being the brain of some vast, comatose creature. He could feel, but not very well at a general level. As he concentrated on certain aspects of Angel Island the sensations became more clear; he could feel the wind whistling through the Mushroom Grove as if it were tousling his own hair, the shots of Nack's pop-gun irritated him like flea bites, as did Rouge's movements as she kicked at a rock at the waterfall, the bone-shattering strikes scattering chips of stone in all directions as she prepared herself for a fight that may or may not occur. As he homed in even more, he found his admiration for the bat growing; she'd just suffered a minor breakdown yet had been training since he had started monitoring the island. That wouldn't have been possible for a weaker person; it would have taken days for them to recover at the least. Knuckles sighed a little; despite the unfortunate circumstance, it had felt good to hold someone close to him like that, hold them like he had never been held. Maybe…no, this wasn't the time; it was possible that a stranger was coming and it was his sworn duty to be ready. He pulled himself out of the close proximity of the waterfall to the whole island. If what Nack and Rouge had told him about Seraph was true, he was going to need the advantage of being able to pick his fighting ground.

The face told the story; he'd only ever seen it on two classes of people; those who were about to go completely insane and those that had just walked onto the scene of a gruesome murder. Shadow absently wondered which it was as Sonic, blue quills streaked through with grime and white gloves now grey, staggered into the kitchen, breathing shallowly and eyes unfocused as he mechanically gulped the tea Shadow had thoughtfully provided. The black hedgehog smirked,

"So, how was it then?" _If looks could kill_ he realised as Sonic growled at him,

"I…will…hurt…you…Shadow".

"Oh don't be so amateur-dramatic", Amy demanded, casually wiping her hands on a paper towel before throwing before throwing it into the bulging bin, "that wasn't too bad; I was expecting worse". Both male hedgehogs goggled at her, mouths agape; Shadow trying to imagine if that wasn't too bad what bad must be and shuddering, while Sonic was trying to come to terms with someone, anyone, marginalising the hell he'd just been through. Amy frowned, then smiled wickedly,

"What's the matter; cats got your tongues?" Both exploded,

"That was…"

"His room's…"

"…sheer hell!"

"…a bomb-site!"

"Hee-hee", Amy giggled at their expressions, "oh come on, it wasn't that bad", she repeated before turning a hard glance on Sonic, "but I expect it to stay that way, mister".

"Seig heil" the hedgehog muttered, in his mind cursing the fact she was right; his room had been a tip and he had needed to do something about it; Amy and the threat of the dreaded hammer had been just the catalyst he had needed to get off his butt and do it.

"What was that?" The question broke into his thoughts, followed rapidly by a panicked shout of,

"No, we've just paid the fridge off, no hammers". Sonic turned to find himself in the shadow of the Piko Piko hammer's head. Luckily, his mind, wishing desperately to preserve the body it found itself lumbered with, provided the lips with a quick response,

"I said sure fire", he gabbled before calming and resorting to charm, "and thank you Amy; if anyone was going to get me to do as mammoth a job as that, it was you". _Damn, that was smooth; note to self – charm is a good thing for fan girls._ Amy appeared to be in shock, her massive hammer wobbling in her grip as the words sank in. She lowered her weapon as she stared at Sonic.

"You mean it Sonic?"

"Yeah, I do", he was surprising himself; he hadn't really intended to be this honest but he was in full flow and couldn't stop now, "I'm a hero and should set a better example than that. Besides", his eyes flicked to Shadow, who was humming the tune of 'Smooth Operator' with an ill-concealed smile, "Blackie over there wouldn't have the guts for a job like that in a month of Sundays". The black hedgehog whipped round, red eyes blazing in a way that reminded the other two hedgehogs uncomfortably of Mecha Sonic.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Sonic should have let it drop, but pressed on recklessly,

"I called you Blackie, Blackie". Shadow roared and launched himself at Sonic, who laughed nettlingly and dodged round the table; it had become apparent very early on in his recovery that the name Blackie made Shadow see red.

"Amy, I need to borrow that hammer a sec". The ultimate life-form seethed as he raced to try and catch his blue counterpart.

"Nuh-uh", the female admonished, sniggering at their antics, "you've just paid off the fridge remember?" She watched on as the two of them played a fascinating game of chase. _Boys_, she thought quietly, _always trying to be better than each other, but liking each other at the same time._ As the speeds the two hedgehogs used increased, Amy sighed as she realised she'd probably have a second clean-up job on her hands before the night was out.

This appeared impossible. Discarding hallucinations as a possibility, there appeared to be a large island floating in the air. Despite the physical inconceivability of such a phenomenon, it was within the area the targets most likely occupied. The possibility existed that the targets were here. The choice was inevitable; extended reconnaissance of this environment was necessary.

After hovering for a few seconds, seemingly sizing up the task now facing him, the emotionless kidnapper set the engines to full and flew like an arrow towards Angel Island. As his relentless progress ate up the distance, the first few specks of rain began to fall.

In a secluded chamber at the heart of Angel Island, Knuckles felt a tiny, almost insignificant tap at on of the outer extremities of his ancestral homeland. The echidna tensed then proceeded to focus on the area of impact. As he did, a scowl germinated and then flourished on his normally passive features; this was not a presence he recognised. Unlike the gentle massages that came from guests of his island, this movement felt like glass being ground into his skin; an interloper. Having pinpointed the general area of invasion and plotted the most direct route of interception Knuckles felt his heart lurch; by sheer dumb luck or darker design, the invader had landed closer to the waterfall where he'd left his two charges. Easing himself from the connection with his home soil, the echidna kicked off from the Master Emerald and ran outside, feeling the rain spatter his fur and the chill of the breeze. The light had nearly faded completely and he had to move fast to protect the unsuspecting duo.

The island appeared uninhabited. The rain and deepening darkness would interfere with aerial reconnaissance; progress on foot. Mark the path.

Alone in alien surroundings, it was a cautious advance with Spyder in hand; the blade left a trail all but invisible to those who didn't know how to look for it; tiny slits in tree bark, a perfect cut in a leaf or a blade's worth of grass mysteriously trimmed. If he'd moved at his normal speed, Rouge and Nack may have been left without a prayer.

Knuckles caught the wind and glided with all his determination and indomitable will behind him. If his unexpected guest was Seraph, he had landed right between Hidden Palace and the waterfall where Rouge was. Knuckles was incensed that a stranger was on his land, worried that the intruder may hurt Rouge and curious as to what this mysterious bogeyman actually looked like. In other words, Knuckles was getting ready for a fight.

The trail was clear. No resistance encountered so far. The elements were hindering the search. Place of rest required. The reconnaissance would wait until maximum efficiency could be attained. A sound, close by. Possibly natural fauna. Prepare for possible assault from natural predator.

Knuckles had landed a safe distance from where he remembered breaking contact and had swiftly but silently worked his way towards the waterfall. The darkness wasn't so much of a problem for him due to his low-level night vision, but the rain was making hearing anything almost impossible. He almost missed it; there was someone nearby, he could tell this foliage had been parted recently by something that walked on two legs. Moving into a ready crouch, the echidna crept forwards, expecting the need for conflict at any given moment. It was only due to his excellent sense of smell that he actually avoided running into the intruder; leather wasn't usually found on his island for obvious reasons. Stopping dead, Knuckles cocked his head and willed his eyes to function in the darkness. After a couple of agonisingly long seconds they obeyed and Knuckles was able to pick out a shape in the shadows. Barely breathing, Knuckles was able to get a clear look at his enemy.

Seraph, if it was him, was facing away from him and appeared to have some kind of leather fetish. Every inch of him was covered in the dully reflective material except his boots, which appeared to have especially thin soles and made little noise when he moved. Some objects that looked suspiciously like coconuts were clipped to his back. As an estimate, Knuckles guessed he was taller but not by a lot, but as the other Mobian stopped dead and stiffened, he realised the time for watching was over. Raising himself to his full and imposing height, Knuckles threw down the gauntlet.

"Hey!"

Not a natural predator. Turn and observe the source of the shout; identification possible. Certainly male and most likely a friend of the targets. The knife was replaced. Remember the law should conflict arise.

The figure in front of him turned slowly to face him, and Knuckles felt twinges of both disappointment and apprehension. Disappointment because Seraph didn't appear to be the killing machine the photo he'd seen spoke of, but apprehension because by turning round, Seraph had exposed his most distinguishing characteristic. There wasn't an inch of skin showing on this guy; even his head was completely obscured by a black leather mask and that sent a shiver up and then down Knuckles' spine. He couldn't read the face of his opponent and that would be a disadvantage if it came to a fight. Which, if his luck ran true to form, it almost certainly would. Seraph didn't appear to be moving so it fell to him to make the first move. What to say though; he didn't want to give too much away but he certainly wanted the Mobian to get the impression he wasn't welcome.

Knuckles Echidna. The previous research proved useful. Powerful upper body strength and the ability to glide and dig at a rapid rate. Known associate of a target; targets possibly nearby. More reconnaissance necessary when interaction concluded.

Knuckles licked his lips and narrowed his eyes slightly,

"I take it you're Seraph then?"

Interesting and useful knowledge; targets in recent contact with this individual. Prepare the tracer. Reply in the affirmative.

A single, slow nod was the only response he received, but that was enough. So Rouge had been telling the truth earlier; he really did exist. His lip curled as he brought his hands up and made an offer he'd made only a handful of times in the past.

"I have no quarrel with you directly, so you may leave this island in peace and vow never to return". _Something tells me he's not going to take me up on that offer_ the echidna though dourly. He was not disappointed.

This territory must be his. I am a trespasser. This territory shelters my targets. Debt of trespass now owed. Terms unacceptable regarding the current mission. Unfortunate but unavoidable. Remember the law – prepare for hostilities.

A shake of the head later and Knuckle's guard shot up, the action mirrored by the echidna's opponent. The mysterious Mobian entered a stance Knuckles was unfamiliar with as the echidna challenged,

"Okay then, we'll do this the hard way". Giving a yell that echoed off the trees, Knuckles advanced into the fray, fists lancing towards the angel in black.

Not very far away on the island, a certain bat pricked up her ears and gasped. Knuckles, and fighting; even over the waterfall she recognised that war shout. Nack noticed her change in face and stopped dead.

"What is it Rouge?" The bat turned to face him, eyes hard as she realised what must have happened.

"Knuckles is fighting, three guesses who". Nack quickly slapped her shoulder, acknowledging the severity of the situation,

"Annie getcha gun"; the weasel threw his pop-gun over one shoulder and got ready to move out, "lead the way; we've got to move quick". She was already gone, trying to track down the fight by her ears alone.

Knuckles led, his iron hard fists blurring the air as he made to circle his opponent, getting himself between Seraph and where Rouge was. He managed to accomplish this with relative ease; it was then he realised that, despite the twenty or so punches he'd thrown, none had actually connected properly. He'd felt impacts on his fists and forearms and hastily asserted that Seraph was holding back and blocking most of his strikes. Still, he was where he wanted to be and snarled as Seraph backed up a few paces, seemingly glaring at him in a calculating manner. It was then that Knuckles noticed what had been so unnerving about the leather clad stalker. _How can he see through a mask with no eye holes?_

The echidna is no longer moving. He may be protecting the target's location. New objective; trace this opponent. Try to end conflict in non-hostile manner.

Knuckles watched as his opponent backed down a little; maybe he hadn't been expecting someone as competent as he was to fight him. Following the movement of the figure, the echidna tensed as a single hand moved; it went from left to right, then pointed at him and repeated the movement. It may have been a distraction, but the pose was all wrong for that – the echidna blinked as he deduced what the gesture actually was.

Seraph wanted him to move out the way.

_Right, now that's something new – asked politely to move over on my own island_; the echidna shook his head, dreadlocks shaking as his breath frosted the air in front of him. He moved for no-one, especially on his home turf and especially when the stranger was going after something he wanted to protect.

The offer was rejected. Style is based loosely on boxing. Impressive strength and stamina. Reach lacking. End the fight swiftly. Pain but nothing disabling.

Seraph appeared to take up a slightly different stance; examining it, Knuckles realised this was a more aggressive form of fighting. It enabled his leading leg to kick swiftly, and his arms were going to be threatening. Knuckles based his stance more towards defence and waited for the attack to come; he was not disappointed.

Pushing hard off the back leg, Seraph exploded into life, covering the ground separating the two in seconds. Knuckles thrust his guard out ready to absorb any blows, but that proved to be a mistake. Like lightning, a snap kick smashed into his foremost fist, jarring his arm and knocking the guard away for a fraction of a second. A swift counterpunch was absorbed by a forearm, the deadly spurs on that gave the echidna his name defeated by the leather encasing the arm. Knuckles gave ground but couldn't get away completely; he grunted as a pair of torpedoes cracked into his chest and then Seraph sprang away, resuming his stance as naturally as water flows downhill. Rapidly assessing his condition, the echidna realised the damage was minimal as his thick muscles had absorbed most of the impact. Snarling at losing first blood, the echidna went on the offensive.

This quick regrouping appeared to catch Seraph off-guard; Knuckles smiled dangerously as he landed a punch squarely on the left bicep of his opponent. He followed up his advantage, trying to connect with a telling blow, but in a display of gymnastics the black figure back flipped and cart wheeled away from the steaming echidna. As he ended his routine and took up another stance, Knuckles received the impression that Seraph was less than impressed.

The delay was increasing; finish and resume reconnaissance.

As Seraph advanced again, Knuckles tracked his every movement, waiting for the perfect second to strike. It was a difficult wait, but then, there!; a microsecond gap in the dark figure's defences. Quicker than thought, Knuckles lashed out, expecting to connect with a blow that would have had pretty much anyone on the floor sucking in oxygen. That, however, didn't happen and as his wrist was seized in an iron grasp the echidna knew he'd made a mistake by striking too soon.

While one hand tied up the echidna's guard, Seraph let fly with the second, free hand; a short, thundering jab to his opponent's floating ribs. Though Knuckles had a high tolerance for pain, a hit like that caused even him to gasp and straighten for a second. Capitalisation was swift; the grip left his wrist and something hard slammed into the echidna's muzzle, causing the fighter's vision to blur and nose to start leaking blood. Enraged, Knuckles swung with both fists, catching his enemy a stinger on the shoulder but the move left him overbalanced. Seraph rolled with the punch and dropped; as he did so he swung his entire body round, leaving a single, straight leg trailing. Knuckles couldn't dodge as the sweep caught the back of his knees, pitching him straight onto his back. Reflexively, his arms dropped to break his fall; a reflex that did more harm than good. Whipping back round from his crouched position, the sweeping leg swung up then down in a vicious axe kick, connecting solidly with the prone echidna's stomach. The impact drove the air forcefully out of Knuckles in an involuntary gargle of pain as he sat up straight.

Rouge's heart froze; that had been Knuckles, she was sure of it. Her imagination swarmed her with horrid images again and she forced herself to go faster, panic lending her speed. Nack trailed in her wake as she tore into the undergrowth, her enhanced hearing allowing her to home in on the fight with unerring accuracy. As she ran, she prepared to fight; Knuckles may need her help and she would not be found lacking.

Tracer deployed.

As Knuckles fought for air, a strike to the side of his head sent him sprawling again. Damn it! Through a haze of pain, he forced himself upright, expecting more pain but it didn't arrive; Seraph was too busy recovering his own stance to inflict more misery on the red warrior. Lungs heaving horribly, Knuckles raised his guard once more, determined not to get caught by a cheap tactic like that again. It was only his instincts that prevented him looking around as something crashed through the bushes at his back; he only prayed it was friendly and not some thug Seraph had employed. Relief washed through him as a voice, a voice that a few hours ago would have struck dread into him, challenged,

"I'm the one you want; come dance with me". Rouge the Bat took up her normal fighting stance and took a long look at the Mobian who was hunting her.

Seraph struck an imposing and sinister silhouette; the rain dripping from his pitch-black leather reinforced the image of a soulless killer, as did the unreadable mask that passed for his face. Rouge had an advantage over Knuckles in this fight; she was fresh, keen and almost wanting this battle. Motioning Knuckles to catch his breath, she moved forwards and gave a disdainful sneer, beckoning the silent figure forwards with a single finger.

Target in sight. Note she protects the innocent. The situation has changed. Taking impossible without damaging target. Weakening target logical.

Nack cautiously approached Rouge's voice; against Seraph, he wasn't going to last long in a fist fight. It was obvious Seraph was here, he caught sight of his nemesis as he pulled his gun off his shoulder. As he crept up behind his fighter friends, he realised the Knuckles looked in a bad way and that, as Rouge occupied his enemy's attention, he'd probably never get a better shot than this. Throwing caution to the wind, Nack thrust himself to his full height, brought his gun to his shoulder and bellowed,

"Down!"

Rouge didn't think, didn't consciously react to the command, her reflexes were honed well beyond that point. She threw herself to the floor, allowing the weasel the clear shot he needed. Seraph seemed to look straight at Nack as he pulled the trigger, the weasel regretting that he'd never see the look on Seraph's face before he died. The dark figure, however, seemed reluctant to give Nack any reason for regrets; having also heard the warning, his legs parted in a classic splits manoeuvre, ducking him under the bullet. Knuckles, the only one still on his feet, saw his opponent down and charged, roaring as Nack cursed himself for missing.

Firearm. Possibility of severe wounding exceeding acceptable risk level. Distract and withdraw.

As the echidna ran towards him, Seraph's arm shot out and a small, black object landed at his feet. With a concussive blast, there was a bright flash that completely destroyed the night vision of all present. Under cover of the temporary blindness, Seraph leapt to his feet and sprinted away into the darkness and cover afforded by the foliage behind him, not flinching as bullets whined overhead.

Nack snarled savagely as he unloaded shot after shot in the direction Seraph had fled; there was next to no chance of him hitting the retreating assassin, but there was always hope. He still couldn't believe Seraph had cheated him a second time by dodging that bullet and cursed himself repeatedly for missing; the gun had been his last possible trick and his opponent now knew of its existence. Having expended his current payload, the weasel turned his attention to where Rouge was dealing with Knuckles.

Completely disorientated by the blast of the flash grenade, Knuckles was lost in a sea of white light, temporarily deafened by the bang. As he tried to make out anything other than vague shapes, a buzzing filled his right ear and gradually, he was able to turn to face it. Something, a hand, touched his glove and he pulled away, forcing weary limbs to adopt the guard stance as he expected a surprise attack. However, as the hand touched his glove again, some sense returned to his ears and he was able to make out the gist of the statement.

"Knuckles it's me" Rouge shouted, keeping herself just within arms reach of the echidna but able to spring out again should he swing. He had taken more of the grenade than either her or Nack and was temporarily blind and, she cursed Seraph again, deaf as well. _Lucky it was just a flash-bang; a real grenade would have completely screwed all of us_ she thought carefully as she repeated herself slowly. After a few more seconds, Knuckles appeared to hear her and lowered his arms.

"Rouge?" he shouted. She winced; he must not have fully recovered his hearing yet. She quickly examined his injuries, impressed at his fortitude despite herself. His nose was bleeding and he appeared to be winded, but other than that appeared to be in good nick. Nack was guarding them with a fully loaded pop-gun and she doubted heavily that Seraph would return for a while, not after coming as close to death as he just had. Then again… she didn't know anything about what he'd do next; going on no information was anathema to her but she was having to put up with it. Ignoring the possible risk of a repeat attack, she move back to Knuckles, hands raised in a pacifying gesture,

"Yes, Knuckles it's me" she said, louder than normal; she approached as the echidna let his arms fall, breathing deeply and clutching his side. Broken rib she questioned in a second of panic; if Seraph had managed to hurt Knuckles like that, she and Nack were in trouble. And Knuckles would be injured for a while, something she didn't want…oh, not again; she realised that looking at the echidna now, she couldn't just walk away as she once might have done; she wanted, no needed to help him. _Just like he helped me_ – the bat walked closer to him, gently prying his arm from his injured side and looping it round her neck.

"Lean on me" she said gently, hoping Knuckles would hear her in his current state.

Someone took my hand away from my hurt ribs; they weren't broken but they sure felt like it. Rouge, even through a bloody nose I could smell her, moved in close and, what was she doing, she moved…

"Lean on me".

Those words cut through the fog, I can tell you. I wasn't incapacitated by any stretch of the imagination but that offer, from Rouge, hit me hard in the soft centre. Normally, she'd have come up with some sarcastic comment about not avoiding the flash but now she just let me, no offered for me, to support myself on her slim shoulders. It was an offer I was grateful for; my side still ached and it was going to be a long walk back to the waterfall.

"Let's go back" Knuckles said in a gasp, trying not to use Rouge too much as a support. The bat nodded and Nack instinctively took a position in front of the duo, covering them with his deadly gun and sharp senses. The journey back to the waterfall took roughly quarter of an hour, compared to the two or so minutes it had taken Nack and Rouge to get the fight in their mad dash. On their slow, steady way, a thought struck Rouge, and Knuckles felt the bats' shoulders shake. Having mostly recovered his hearing, the echidna lowered his voice.

"Something funny?"

"I just thought" Rouge explained, smiling as the irony gods had a laugh at her expense, "this time yesterday we'd have been clawing each other's eyes out, but today we lean on each for support. Just, struck me as ironic, really" she tailed off, unsure of herself as Knuckles didn't respond immediately, refocusing her mind on the journey ahead. Left foot, right foot, left foo…

"Makes you wonder what tomorrow will bring" Knuckles quipped, chortling slightly at the thought as Rouge tried to make sense of the words. Had it been just a simple sentence, or was there a double meaning inflected in the echidna's statement? While she'd publicly expect the former, deep inside herself she prayed for the latter.

Luckily, Seraph didn't make an appearance on the way back and the battle weary warriors made it back to the waterfall. Nack, who had been silent on the entire journey, mind in turmoil as the missed shot, his missed shot, replayed over and over in his head, spoke softly,

"We can't sleep in the open, we'd be easy targets".

"I know", Knuckles said carefully, gently lifting himself away from Rouge's supporting shoulders, "follow me". He led on, getting closer and closer to the waterfall as the two targets swapped confused glances. _One of the perks of being a guardian_, Knuckles thought carefully as he picked out the correct path, _you can always find a place to hide_. He gritted his teeth; he hated the feeling of being forced to hide from an attacker, especially on his island, but this time it couldn't be helped. He'd underestimated Seraph's skill and cunning and he'd been lucky to get away as lightly as he had. The rational part of his mind was trying to explain that fact, but there were glaring inconsistencies; Seraph had been in the perfect position to deal him heavy, if not crippling, damage but hadn't. He shrugged as his mind returned to more important matters. The spray from the waterfall caught in his fur as he carefully moved behind the curtain of water, beckoning the others to follow as he raised his voice,

"Not much further, we'll be safe here for the night".

Nack gave a whistle as he glanced round the small chamber Knuckles had led them to; the chamber looked like it had originally been eroded naturally, but had been artificially extended into a dry, small niche. A good place to hide he realised as Knuckles lay down, tenderly stretching himself out on his back. Rouge kneeled as he sat down; the tension grew until he could bear it no longer,

"I'm sorry you two".

"Wha'?"

"I shouldna missed", the weasel cursed, again thinking about just how much that missed shot could cost in the long run, "not from there; Seraph should be six feet under by now".

"If you two hadn't arrived when you did, the same might have been true for me". The weasel looked over as Knuckles smiled and rubbed his stomach, "how'd you know where to find me anyway?"

"With the amount of noise you make I'd have found you blindfolded", Rouge chortled before looking concerned, "he catch you in the gut?"

"Yeah, stings like hell" the echidna admitted. His eyes widened a little as the bat approached him,

"What are you doing?" he asked quickly as she kneeled by his side.

"Hold still, this'll stop your stomach from cramping up" she stated, one hand resting on the echidna's stomach. He hissed as she pressed gently,

"Ow; this isn't helping".

"Yeah it is, you'll feel it in the morning" Nack said, recognising the bat's actions as a kind of massage that would keep the blood flowing to the damaged tissue; it'd be painful but worth it in the long run. Knuckles nodded, submitting to the pressing and releasing of Rouge's hands, and glanced at her as she asked gently,

"Why'd you fight him anyway?" The echidna had to come up with something on the fly; he didn't want Nack to know about the Master Emerald unless it was _absolutely_ necessary. Luckily, his agile mind hit on a solution.

"I saw him land", he began, closing his eyes as Rouge continued the massage, "he was too close to you two for comfort and I couldn't get past him. I had to fight him to get to you. Don't stop, that feels great" he added, the pain in his belly fading as Rouge worked her magic. The bat scowled playfully,

"Don't get comfortable, I'm only doing this because you were dumb enough to get hurt looking out for me", _is that strictly true – errrr – thought not_, she turned away slightly to hide a faint flush, "what's his fighting style like?" she asked, curious as to her foe's abilities; you could tell a lot from someone by the way they fought.

"Painful", Knuckles managed to joke before turning serious, "No, seriously, I don't really know much about it. He was kicking, punching and grabbing equally as well".

"That's about right", Nack stood up after fully reloading his gun, "Seraph's good; he'll adapt to his opponents". _Ain't that the truth_ the weasel thought grimly, remembering the circumstances of years ago. Knuckles nodded at Rouge, whispered his thanks and turned to Nack.

"I need your phone a second". Both treasure hunters looked at him as though he'd gone mad, but the weasel handed it over.

"What are you gonna do with that?" Rouge asked, curious as to what the echidna had in mind. Knuckles ducked towards the cove entrance, answering over his shoulder,

"I'm getting us some help".

_Typical_, Sonic groaned inwardly, _just when I finally get ready for bed_. The blue blur had brushed his teeth and narrowly avoided Amy in the hallway; he'd had a suspicion she'd been after a goodnight kiss…his insides squirmed. Kicking off the covers, the hero moved to where the phone was anchored to the kitchen wall, next to the fridge.

"Hey, this is Sonic".

"Ah good, you're in". The hedgehog's eyes widened as he recognised the gruff voice on the other end of the line,

"Knuckles", he was speechless for a second; the echidna never called anyone, let alone him, so why the breach of protocol, "how you doing bud; been a long time…"

"Listen Sonic", he was cut off and noticed, with no small amount of concern, that Knuckles' tone was hushed and hurried, "there's a problem on Angel Island. I need you, Tails and Shadow up here tomorrow morning". Sonic didn't reply immediately; he was reeling from this – Knuckles never, ever asked for help, especially not from him, unless this was more than just a run-of-the-mill plot by Dr. Eggman. Gathering himself, Sonic quickly replied,

"We'll be there soon as Knucks; what's going on?"

"No time to explain", the echidna's voice was hushed further, "I'm here with Rouge and a weasel called Nack. Bring supplies; I don't know how long this'll last".

"Nack", a memory was triggered by the name and Sonic made a split-second decision, "I'm bringing Amy as well".

"Fine, just get here, this is life or death".

"No problem", Sonic couldn't resist a dig, "so, asked Rouge out yet?" The line went dead. After deciding it was still early enough to get through to Tails, the hedgehog made a second call and was assured the Tornado was ready to fly at last. Sonic told the kit as much as he knew and told him to get ready for an early start. He then called Amy and Shadow together in the kitchen.

"Just got a call from Knucks; he says he's got a problem on Angel Island", he looked at Amy, "he's there with someone called Nack". Amy's eyebrows raised,

"So what's the problem?"

"He didn't say but this is Knuckles remember; he never calls except in a crisis. Tails says the Tornado's ready to go, so we're flying there tomorrow morning".

"Fine" Shadow put in, "we'll help out our friend, but let's get some sleep first" he pointed at the clock on the wall. All three nodded and headed for their rooms before Amy stopped and turned to face Sonic, a gleam in her eye that made the blue hedgehog very nervous.

"Goodnight kiss?" she asked, closing her eyes and puckering up. As the next noise she heard was a slamming door she took that as a no, sighed and headed for her room when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She found herself looking into Shadow's crimson eyes,

"Don't worry Amy", the black hedgehog said with a small smile, "he cares for you; he's just afraid of commitment. Leave him a while and he'll come round".

"You think so?"

"I know so; come on, I live with the guy, I know what he's thinking about". A voice from Sonic's room silenced the pair of them,

"I'm thinking about beating you to death if you don't stop embarrassing me, Shadow the Hedgehog!" Holding in his chuckles in, Shadow looked at Amy, who was in a similar state. The two bade each other goodnight before retiring to their rooms.

Rouge was wondering just what Knuckles was up to when the echidna reappeared in the entrance to their sanctuary and tossed Nack his phone, smiling grimly,

"Done, Sonic and co will be here tomorrow".

"No", hope had flared in the bat's heart, but was rapidly swamped with guilt; she had said she wouldn't bring them into this, but just how had it turned out, "that's terrible; Seraph, he'll just, I didn't want them involved". Knuckles was taken aback by this,

"What?" Nack spoke up in Rouge's defence,

"She didn't want any of you lot involved in this; she thought you could get hurt and didn't want it to be on her head". This sent Knuckles reeling even further,

Is, is this true Rouge?" The bat nodded and the echidna simply blinked; _She didn't want us hurt, that's just…_ he shook his head and tried to prove his decision to get the gang together was a good idea,

"Well, too late now; they should be here tomorrow" he sat down, noting the pain in his ribs was fading by now, "and when they get here you two are going to come clean about how you got into this mess". Nack shot to his feet,

"No way, it's not…"

"Yes it is", Rouge was up as well, glaring at her companion, "my friends are involved in this now. That changes everything and if the story can help, we're going to tell it, okay?" Nack met her eyes and capitulated, she was really determined in this. _Well, I don't have to tell them everything_ the weasel thought carefully.

"Fine, I don't like it but I'll go along with it. Now you two get some sleep, I'll take first watch". The weasel stood and moved to the entrance, gun ready as Knuckles and Rouge made them as comfortable as possible on the bare stone.

A black hand shut off the receiver bead; though muffled, the tracer chip he'd placed on the echidna was doing an adequate job. Reinforcements were due tomorrow, but the journey here and fight straight afterwards had tired the hunter; acting tonight would be unwise. The chip embedded in his dreadlocks meant that Knuckles was now an unwitting beacon for Seraph's trackers; he could find the targets any time he needed to. Reclining in a suitable tree, the faceless Mobian allowed his body to shut down and rest. Tomorrow the hunt continued in full; the hue and cry was raised and the targets were in plain sight.


	9. Cut and Run

Chapter 8 – Cut and Run.

The alarm tone that echoed throughout the Station Square apartment would normally have been switched off and ignored by the slumbering blue hedgehog, but today was not a normal day. Flipping the alarm off, Sonic vaulted upright and quickly slipped on his sneakers; the shower he'd normally have as part of his morning ritual was forgotten as he'd taken one last night. The call from Knuckles had shocked the hedgehog more than he let on; if Knuckles said life or death, chances were he actually meant there was a risk of someone getting badly injured or worse. To that end, he had told his house mates to be ready to mobilise first thing in the morning and get to Floating Island as soon as was possible. Dodging out into the kitchen, Sonic was relieved that neither had slept in; Amy was yawning as she ploughed through a bowl of porridge, while Shadow, forsaking breakfast as he always did, was draining the dregs of his coffee.

"Hey Sonikku", Amy brightened visibly as Sonic entered the room and yawned as well, "porridge on the stove if you feel like some".

"Thanks Ames, sounds good right about now" Sonic answered as he hastily ladled what remained of the creamy oat dish into a bowl he fished out of the cupboard next to the sink. Breakfast was finished in silence, and the dishes were left piled up in the sink; by unspoken agreement, all three hedgehogs were determined to get to their friend in the least amount of time as possible. Having quickly let breakfast settle, Shadow stood up, a movement swift echoed by Sonic,

"Right, let's get to the Mystic Ruins".

"Okay, Amy, same as last time, right?" Sonic stated, glancing as the rose hedgehog nodded, the Piko Piko hammer suddenly vanishing as her hands moved. _Normally, she'd have been all over me – you sound a bit disappointed, missing something? – don't you ever quit – no, just like you – aw, shut up_; Sonic quickly led the way out and, after ensuring Amy was holding on safely, took off in time with Shadow.

Alerted by Sonic's call the previous night, Tails had refuelled the Tornado, the repairs having been completed just after he'd been dropped off in the morning. Now the fox was stood on his front doorstep, waiting for his future passengers. A slight smile touched his lips as he thought about the oxymoron of 'waiting for Sonic'. That was as unusual as, er, off the top of his head he couldn't think of anything it was an unusual as. Ah, fantastic; unless his sharp eyes deceived him, that was Sonic now; the tell-tale dust cloud inexorably approaching his workshop was too familiar to be mistaken and its twin had to be Shadow. Tails instinctively raised his hands as the mobile dust storms approached, shielding his eyes from the stinging clouds of grit thrown up when Sonic pulled to a stop.

"Everyone here?"

"Yeah, where's the ride?" Tails was a little stunned as Amy hopped lightly from the position she'd adopted to let Sonic carry her easily; to the fox, it looked like she was swinging off his shoulders to land on her feet. _How'd she avoid his spikes, unless she's immune to them as a hedgehog? Kind of like snakes being immune to their own venom_. The fox shook himself as he realised all three were waiting for his answer.

"Er, it's ready, just wait for a second while I pull it out the garage". Amy smiled, struck a pose and tapped her foot, speaking in a mime of Sonic's voice,

"I'm waaaiiiiiting". The mimicry was so perfect that even Sonic was fooled; the blue hedgehog was dumbfounded for a second as though convincing himself he hadn't spoken.

"Heh, nice one Ames" Shadow commented as the rose hedgehog winked cheekily at her crush, who scowled as he realised one of his trademarks had been used without his permission. Tails shook his head as he entered his workshop, absent-mindedly hitting the button that dropped the end of the building, allowing easy access for his transforming vehicle.

**Target movement. Potential rendezvous with reinforcements. Retain visual contact. Primary mission: neutralise target firearms.**

"Here". Rouge was woken by a gentle nudge and the smell of something sweet brought close to her nose. The bat yawned as Nack left the fruit near her shoulders, the weasel retreating to the entrance of the cave where Knuckles was partially visible; the echidna appeared to be splashing his face with cold water from the waterfall. Rouge had taken the second watch, waiting at the opening to the sanctuary with every sense straining to try and detect an attack from Seraph. It was the longest three hours of the bat's life, but luckily had ended peacefully; no bloodthirsty ninjas had leapt out to challenge here before Knuckles had relieved her post, letting her succumb once more to the bliss of sleep. Examining the dish before her she smiled; sweetberries and grapes, her favourite. No doubt Knuckles had gone out of his way for her, again. _If he wasn't such a knucklehead_ she mused as her teeth, specially evolved to allow her to drain fruit juice without getting her fur stained, made short work of the breakfast. She sighed; that had hit the spot.

"When they getting here Knucks?"

"Not sure; Sonic said soon as, so could be any time", the echidna shrugged, "still, get ready to go, we've got to be at the landing pad to clue them in on you-know-who".

"There's a landing pad?" Nack looked amazed at this, "sorry, didn't see anything on the way in". Knuckles folded his arms at the weasel, cocking his head,

"I'm not surprised, you were blindfolded".

"You saw…"

"Yes", Knuckles cut him off, "it's not really a landing pad, but it's flat enough to let the Tornado land safely. It's a bit of a trek, so stay sharp".

"After last night, the only place my guard's going is up", Rouge smiled as she moved past the echidna to freshen up, "after last night, yours should too, unless you've got a taste for knuckle sandwiches". Knuckles moved to get revenge for the barb of the bat's words but Nack raised a finger.

"Now, now children, play nice" the weasel admonished, his single fang creasing his lip as both fighters' glared daggers at him. Pulling his gun over his shoulder, he stood straight and adjusted his hat, "lead on red, you know the way".

"Name's Knuckles", the echidna grimaced, moving out of the cave and carefully towards the bank of the waterfall, "Knucks if fine, but red isn't". Nack shook his head,

"Right, you're not a babe and you're not red", he stated, indicating both of his companions, "are you two sure you're both seeing straight?" If any reply was forthcoming, Nack missed it as Knuckles and Rouge turned away from him, both muttering under their breath.

"ETA fifteen minutes' people, get ready". Tail's voice, distorted by the crackle of static from the radio, brought the three hedgehogs in the back of the plane to life; well, sort of. Amy glanced up from the book she was reading, glanced at Sonic, who was quietly looking out the window and returned to her novel while Shadow furrowed his brow in confusion, trying to remember what ETA stood for. Eventually, he gave up and asked Sonic,

"Expected Time of Arrival" the blue hedgehog said simply, tearing his gaze away from a cloud he swore looked like Big the Cat. Shadow caught a quick glimpse from his middle seat and couldn't really see too much of a resemblance, though if you squinted a bit, that wisp of cloud might have looked a bit like a fishing rod. Unable to get comfortable, Shadow piped up again,

"I hope Knuckles is okay; Rouge as well" he added almost as an afterthought. With a burst of static, the radio crackled to life again, causing all three passengers to start; no-one ever remembered the Tornado's radios were two-way; Tails could hear everything his passengers said, a trick that had come in useful more than once in the past. The fox's voice was tinny but still comforting,

"Knuckles won't let anything dangerous happen on his island and Rouge can more than take care of herself. They'll be fine, I'm sure of it; they're probably more at risk from each other than anything out there". This guesstimate was greeted with chuckles – everyone had heard of the 'disagreements' the pair tended to have; what with Rouge wanting to own the biggest jewel in the world and Knuckles kind of standing in the way, it was small wonder the bat and echidna never really saw eye to eye. This'd probably just blow over in a couple of days and everything would just go back to the way it was; Knucks and Rouge trading blows and insults until the next time Eggman tried some zany scheme to take over the world.

In this unvoiced belief, all four of the heroes on the Tornado couldn't have been more wrong if they'd tried.

The trio of warriors had been following the lead of Knuckles, the echidna taking them to the landing strip by the most direct route; as Nack had pointed out, if their back-up arrived early and Seraph got there first, it could be a massacre. After last night, Knuckles and Rouge had simply upped the pace; neither was going to let that happen if they could help it. Pushing her way though a clump of springy fungus, Rouge gave a whistle, eyes wide and smiling,

"They're here", she stated, "I can hear the engines of the foxboy's plane from here" she explained as Knuckles allowed himself a small nod; his relationship with Sonic may have been more head to head than eye to eye, but he'd be grateful to have the hedgehog's speed as a weapon against this new foe.

"Right, let's go, we're close but I'm taking no chances".

"Me neither", Nack chipped in, "more people we've got, better chance we've got" he mentioned by way of explanation, pushing forwards through the undergrowth with renewed determination. The weasel was still angry with himself for missing what he considered a sitter of a shot and was going to redeem himself by any means necessary.

Knuckles hadn't been lying; the airstrip was simply a bare patch of earth that the echidna purposely kept flat and clear of foliage to allow the Tornado to land. Tails had suggested the idea and it had seemed a good one at the time. Like most of the fox's brainchildren; Knuckles had a bit of a soft spot for Tails due to the fact that, unlike Sonic, Tails actually had the sense to keep his mouth shut at times. As the silhouette of the familiar plane came into view, Knuckles gave a wave with his arm, noting that his actions were copied, to a lesser degree by Rouge. He gave a small, devilish grin,

"You can wave batgirl, your arm won't fall off". Rouge simply ignored him, or tried to, but he noticed by sneaking a peek when she thought he wasn't looking, she had begun whole-heartedly waving as well. _Probably as relived as I am_ he thought as Tails came in to land.

"C'mon me beauty, just stay level and smooth" the fox whispered, gently coaxing his precious machine as he made his final approach. He wasn't expecting any trouble; hell, he'd done this nearly a hundred times before, but it was like a routine that always seemed to end in a good landing. Raising his voice, he spoke into a radio on his dashboard,

"Calling all passengers; we will be landing at Angel Island in approximately thirty seconds. Please ensure you have all your belongings and personal items when you leave the flight. Thank you for flying Skyfox airlines".

Warned by their pilot's little speech, Amy, Sonic and Shadow were able to brace for the landing. With a tiny bump, the plane landed on the soil of Angel Island, the increased drag from the land helping slow the Tornado, eventually killing the forward motion completely. As Sonic made to alight from his seat, he took a final peek through his window; sure enough, there was Knuckles and Rouge, who was waving and making rude gestures behind the echidna's head. There was also a purple figure standing a little apart with a hat on and something that looked suspiciously like a gun held casually in his hands. Tearing his gaze away, Sonic wondered just what his gullible red friend had stumbled into this time. _Still, worth it though; it was getting boring just sitting at home – I could use a challenge._

Unseen by all, a hand gripped the handle of a knife tightly, strategy planned and back-up schemes in place. The knife wasn't the Spyder, it was a larger knife that had a broader head and a serrated edge. If it hit the target its bearer had planned, it was going to make a mess. Just wait for the perfect moment to strike.

"Hi Knuckles, long time no see". Amy was the first to step off the Tornado ramp and immediately set off towards the red echidna. Knuckles gave a wave and approached, hearing Sonic's comment of,

"What you managed to get yourself into this time Knucks?"

"I'll fill you in on that" Rouge approached the grounded transport as well, relieved that she was no longer alone against Seraph. Nack hung back a bit, waiting to be introduced when his head exploded with pain and white noise.

"Yo Knuckles, what's the problem?" Before either Knuckles or Rouge could answer, there was an agonised cry from Nack, the weasel collapsing onto his knees, clutching his ears. That was when all hell broke loose.

To everyone who was oblivious to Seraph's existence, it appeared that an obsidian dart lanced out from the undergrowth behind the landing pad. Sonic, used to seeing things at high velocity, noted something glinting and in horror shouted,

"Knife!" Even from where he was, he couldn't have got there in time. The dart reached the stricken purple creature and the blade flashed forwards.

Nack was in agony; it felt like someone had just concentrated all the noise from a punk concert and blasted it directly into his eardrums. Caught totally unprepared, he was helpless as Seraph sprinted into him. There was a sickening, ripping sound and he fell forwards, a heavy weight removed from him.

**Threat neutralised; proceed with escape plan.**

Knuckles had been caught off-guard by the shout and had spun, only to hear Rouge scream and see the leather armoured Seraph racing towards him. Unable to think in time, the echidna simply flung up his arms, knowing that, come to the crunch, even he couldn't stop a knife. Something white flashed in front of him and his heart lurched as he realised what was going to happen.

**Target in unusual position; utilise target for leverage.**

Rouge had screamed as she'd seen Nack fall to the floor; she couldn't see the damage but if Sonic's shout had been right, she didn't fancy Nacks' chances of getting up. As she saw the course his murderer had plotted, she set her mind firm; this was suicide but she was going to do it anyway. Giving a shout, she threw herself in front of Knuckles, eyes forced open as she accepted her fate.

It seemed to Rouge that, when her life was all but over, time slowed down dramatically; she hung in the air for incalculable moments, her eyes noting every reflection of light on Seraph's leather armour; hell, she could even see her own reflection staring back at her from the sea of obsidian material. With infinite slowness, the assassin launched himself, up, up and up; she felt a slow, steady press in her side as he used her flying form as a spring board, gaining enough height and momentum to land right on the side of the Tornado itself. As she twisted to follow the leap, she realised what the purpose of this blitzkrieg had actually been. Time speeded up again.

It's a known fact that a gecko can support its bodyweight hanging from one toe, the grip of its skin allowing it to achieve such a feat. The natural technology of this little lizard had been copied and synthesised by Mobians; it was this fact that allowed Seraph to catch himself and push up the slick side of the aircraft, the toe of his boot giving him the grip he needed. He scrambled over, across the wing and leapt again, the jump taking him clear into the jungle the other side of the landing strip. In the space of thirty seconds, a precious advantage to the home side had been completely neutralised and possibly turned against them.

Everyone was still; no-one could really believe what they'd seen and were in awe of the several feats that had just taken place before their eyes. It was only when a groan arose from Nack's twitching body that everyone exclaimed at once,

"What the hell…"

"Rouge, are you…?"

"Who was…?"

"Jesus…"

"I'm fine…"

"SHUT UP!" To everyone's amazement, including Shadow's, they all did as they were told, everyone there simply staring at him speechless, even Rouge, who Knuckles was helping off the ground. The bat shook her head and ran to Nack as Knuckles turned to the others, face grim and eyes hard as granite,

"That is our problem".

Nack pushed himself to his knees, mind still reeling from that, whatever the hell that had been. He felt light headed and slightly detached from it all; he could see Rouge running towards him, face full of concern, but it didn't seem to matter so much; there was something he was missing. What was it; he was sure it aught to be important but… the fuzziness cleared slowly as he tried to focus on the bat.

"Nack, Nack can you hear me? Are you hurt?" No, no he wasn't; he should have been but, as the cobwebs were swept away from the interior of the weasel's skull, he realised what had happened and swore violently; Seraph had got the jump on him from behind and he was sure there had been a shout of a knife involved somewhere. _I should be dead_ the weasel thought, delayed shock beginning to numb the heat from his body. He fought it down; he couldn't let his guard down again, they'd need, wait! As the weasel fumbled for something, a slender hand gripped his wrist and he met eyes with Rouge as the bat shook her head.

"Sorry Nack, he took it". The weasel screwed his eyes shut and prayed, realising that without his gun, the odds of success were now somewhere between nil and non-existent.

An aura of shock pervaded the area as, once Tails had joined the gathering from the cockpit of the Tornado, Knuckles explained as much as he could about the circumstances. The air of disbelief grew until Shadow burst the bubble.

"So you're saying", the black hedgehog was having trouble getting his head round the story, "that yesterday, Rouge and this weasel land on your island and say someone named Seraph is out to get them. You take them in, that's right so far?"

"Yep, more or less" the echidna answered, eyes darting around as Shadow continued, shaking his head,

"So all's well until Rouge gets a call, breaks her phone, mentions something about a trace and says to get ready. That night, you bump into that, that black thing and have a fight that you only win because Rouge and Nack, that is his name right?" getting a nod, Shadow finished, "show up at the last minute. That's when you call us in".

"That's about the long and short of it", Knuckles conceded, adding his own dire words of warning, "I've fought him once, but like you've just seen, this Seraph is dangerous. He nearly beat me and could have just done, well, pretty much anything". The echidna stopped abruptly, mind refusing to think of the consequences had Seraph struck at Rouge rather than escape. Tails pounded fist into palm,

"It doesn't make sense", he declared, earning several questioning looks, "you say Seraph is after Nack and Rouge; well, he just had a golden chance to take them both out. Sonic, you say he had a knife, yes?" The blue hedgehog nodded grimly,

"Yeah, I saw it in his hand".

"Right, then he could have taken them both out without us being able to do a thing. I mean, even Sonic couldn't have got there in time; why'd he stop?" After digesting that piece of information, Knuckles shook his head and sighed,

"I've got no idea, but I know two people who can tell us". Following his finger, the rest of the group saw Nack and Rouge approaching them, the weasel pale as flour and breathing shallowly. Noticing the scrutiny, the two approached the other five and Nack took his hat off, sitting down as the shock at coming a hairs-breadth from death sank into him. The weasel looked each of them in the eye and slowly removed his leather hat, gaze falling to the floor as he spoke sadly,

"I'm sorry about this, all of you, but I don't think there's any backing out now. Seraph knows your faces, none of you'll be safe if you leave; he'll track you down. Take a seat, Rouge and I need to talk to you".

**An unusual thought. It could have been this weapon that created Seraph. Immaterial now; it was a tool that required disposal.**


	10. The Guild of Treasure Hunters

Chapter 9 – The Guild of Treasure Hunters.

Nack reached into his pocket, fingers trembling as he tried to extract and light a cigarette. He needed a smoke to try and calm his shattered nerves; one of the most proficient killers he'd ever had the misfortune to come into contact with had been given a free shot at his unprotected back_ and turned it down_! He was blessing the lucky star he was born under that the gun was only loaded with sand shells; they'd sting if they hit you but fail to do much bar strip off skin. Either Seraph was toying with them or he had a seriously twisted sense of humour – Nack's stomach turned as he tried to decide the best way to explain to his impromptu protectors; at least he wouldn't have to warn them about their foe's skill and potential – they'd all just been treated to a first class demonstration of that. Knuckles was keeping a very wary eye on the jungle Seraph had vanished into as the hedgehogs and fox unloaded what little luggage they'd brought with them from their transport and settled down. Rouge approached him, downcast as she realised she'd have to delve as deeply into the past as he was to satisfy the questions,

"What do you reckon?" Nack looked up, biting back the retort that he was tempted to spit out due to shock,

"You know this lot better'n me, so you tell your story first. I know more about the start and about him, so I'll fill in any bits you miss". Rouge nodded and rubbed her eyes,

"Even why we split?"

"Yeah, even that; they gotta right to know".

"I am not looking forwards to this; you know how I got involved right?"

"Yeah" Nack smiled slightly, "wasn't it due to Razzy catching you…"

"Shut up", Rouge shuddered at the memory, "I'm going to have to tell this once today, I'm not doing it twice".

"Am I right; I always thought that was a myth?"

"No, it actually was true; bloody rooster, if he hadn't called at the wrong time I would have missed by inches". Both were interrupted by a shout from Knuckles, the echidna marching up to them and jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

"We're sticking here for now; he can't pull the same trick twice and you said the shells were useless. Now, you two have some explaining to do".

"Alright I confess", Rouge eyes sparkled, "I admit it; I swiped the crown jewels and replaced them with fakes years ago. Is that a crime?" Knuckles staggered back, shocked at this revelation,

"You wha…"

"Gotcha", the bat crowed in triumph, "geez Knucklehead, I've know insects less gullible than you". The echidna's mouth hung open and just for a split second, a tiny hint of darker red may just have been visible under his fur before he turned away, muttering curses both to himself and to Rouge for showing him up like that.

Rouge's euphoria at managing to put one over on Knuckles lasted until she saw the faces of her friends as they sat waiting for her. Their eyes were, to her, piercing if not actually accusatory, and though each appeared at ease, there was a definite undercurrent or tension and readiness. Nack sat down, taught as a bowstring as Rouge took centre stage.

"Right, well I've heard that Knuckles has told you everything he knows, correct?" There was a nodding of heads and Amy piped up,

"He said you arrived yesterday, there was a fight last night then you called us". That had been true; if nothing else the echidna had a good memory. _All the better for bearing grudges_; she shook off the sour thought and licked her lips,

"Okay, good. Now this guy that's after Nack and me", she indicated the weasel with a wave of her hand, "disappeared seven years ago. I'm about to tell you how but before I do, I have to ask you that everything you hear now goes no further than this. That okay with everyone?" Shadow answered after a quick bobbing of heads,

"Sounds fair…"

"Now get on with it" Knuckles added gruffly, eyes darting around as he folded his arms. Giving the echidna a caustic glare, the bat returned to her story,

"As I was saying, seven years ago I was in a bad patch; I didn't have much of a choice so I, er, I decided it would be a good idea to, er, liberate some gems from a museum display. Only one or two though, just enough to tide me over…"

"How old were you at this point?" Tails asked suddenly, struck by the sudden thought as Rouge furrowed her brows,

"I was, no I'd just turned twelve; any point behind that question or you just being nosey foxboy?"

"Just curious" he admitted, shrugging his shoulders as the bat continued,

"Well, it went well; there was a mysterious power cut just as I got in through a sky light and I was able to get a few sparklers. But just as I was leaving, I saw there was a second guy in here with me. There was a shout to stop and I bolted, thinking it was a guard; just my luck he could fly as well and gave chase. We gave each other a run around until I decided to end it…" Nack chipped in with a well chosen comment, breaking the ice with the others that he didn't know, hoping to make a fair impression on them; before too long he'd probably be relying on them for protection,

"She got tangled in a couple of power lines". The reaction was just as he'd hoped; there was an outburst of sniggers, especially from Knuckles as the mental image sank in.

"Thank you Nack", Rouge added pleasantly, mouthing 'you're dead' as she faced him; this just caused him to laugh a little as she continued, "Well anyway I got caught, but the guy following me wasn't a guard; he was a thief as well. He was a rooster called Erasmus, or Razzy, and we talked for a bit as he set me loose. He invited me back to what I thought was a deserted warehouse, but there as we waited, others came in. It was then that I was introduced to the Guild of Treasure Hunters".

"The Guild of Treasure Hunters?" Sonic rolled the name around in his mouth as though sucking on a boiled sweet, "sounds like an Indiana Jones tribute club" he concluded, eliciting a snigger from Shadow, Tails and a harsh look from both guild members.

"Well it wasn't", Rouge snapped before recomposing herself again, "we were a small body of pros, specialising in espionage, information trading and occasional thievery".

"You were a thief's guild?" Knuckles said, not accusing, merely stating a fact. Rouge nodded slowly,

"If you want to put it like that, but we were good at what we did. We went in, we did the job, no-one got hurt most of the time. Apparently, I'd managed to impress Razzy and was offered to join. Best offer I'd had in a long time, so I did; I went through a long period of training to hone my natural talents and fighting prowess and then was deemed ready to work".

"What was your first mission?" Tails enquired; to the surprise of all concerned, Rouge's face fell and her ears drooped.

"I never had one; two nights before I was due to go on, we broke up and disbanded the guild".

"Why was that?"

"I'll answer that", Nack stood up; he had heard enough from Rouge and prepared to take over, "but I'll fill in some blanks first". The weasel stood up and glanced at Rouge appreciatively before starting.

"The guild was originally five strong; there was me, Razzy, a mouse called Jessie Wheatear, a fox-cat cross called Chalkie and the last one we never got the name of", Nack's eyes soured as he remembered the struggle they'd had trying to get him to sign to the guild policy, eventually settling for an X, "We each arrived at the warehouse about a year before Rouge got involved; we'd each received a letter from someone called the Benefactor telling us to show up. We were introduced and got a vid-phone from him…"

"Who was he; Seraph?" Shadow's mind reacted to this information and arrived at a conclusion, but Nack shook his head,

"Na, wasn't him; we never saw what he looked like, it was just a blank screen and a mechanical voice. He said he'd heard of our talents and he and a select few of his friends were interested in hiring our services for a few 'discreet services'. We saw a figure on the screen and pretty much screamed where to sign. That night, the Guild of Treasure Hunters was formed". Nack broke off for a second, remembering the hope and celebration that had happened as they all signed up and partied long into the night; only two years later it would all end in blood and tears. Noting his silence, Amy prompted,

"So where does Seraph come in to all this?"

"Hmm, oh yeah", Nack cleared his mind and took a deep breath, "well we drew up a code of sorts, a kind of law that we upheld when we were working, so to speak. Firstly, when working for on guild business, we couldn't hurt anyone who was in the way; no collateral damage in a matter of speaking. Then we decided that each of us should leave a mark at the scene of the crime; something whoever was employing us could see on the news. I remember Jessie always left an ear of corn, she was Jessie Wheatear and she said it suited her. I always left a fang on a piece of string and the others each had their own sign. Got all that?"

"Yeah I guess so; what was your sign Rouge, or should I say, what was it going to be?" Amy asked carefully, not wanting to embarrass the bat, but she grinned and smacked her lips,

"A lipstick kiss, but anyway, the signs were important in all this", the bat leaned closer, allowing Nack to take a back seat, "I was told the bit about one of the original five not signing his name. Well, his mark was unique, so we eventually called him by it. It was the outline of an angel, no face or halo, just a black outline. We called him Seraph".

There was a suitably stunned silence as everyone tried to take this in; from the way Rouge and Nack were talking, it seemed they'd know all about the viper in their nest but failed to do anything about it. Knuckles shot to his feet, tone hard and accusing,

"So you're saying you knew this maniac before…"

"No", Nack matched his voice in tone and volume, "he wasn't always like that, well, not at first anyway. Look, for the first year and a half, things went smooth as; we did a little espionage, took a couple of gems and antiques and got a hefty check for our troubles. Then things started to go downhill", the weasel turned away from the rest of them, not wanting to reveal the struggle he was having trying to say this after sealing it away inside for so long, "Seraph changed. Okay, he never spoke much to start with, but then he just went totally dead. He started showing up less and less to meets, we'd just see his mark in the news and assume he'd taken on a job without us knowing; it was first come first served really. But then the jobs we got started going bad; there were a couple of what we called 'beat-ups' among the usual takes and spying. Things started to get really nasty and Seraph's mark started to show up in the aftermaths of some real bloodbaths", Nack considered showing the photo but decided against it for now, "but we were getting paid more so kept our mouths shut".

"You just let it happen; didn't you see he was going off the rails, and you did nothing to stop him? What kind of Mobian are you?" Shadow was nearly shouting, something none present had ever seen him do, pointing accusingly at the weasel.

"The scared kind", Rouge said quietly, speaking up as her tone helped diffuse the pent-up anger at this news, "Seraph, at least when I saw him, just appeared completely detached; he pushed through people who tried to stop him; once he had a proper ding-dong fight with Chalkie that left the fox-cat in stitches. He looked like he could kill, but we were deciding if things didn't improve, that was it, we'd turn him in and split up, forget the guild. But, as things turned out, we left it too long". The bat swallowed, shaking, afraid to continue as the others waited apprehensively. Nack pre-empted the question before it was asked, twisting the hat in his hands until the leather threatened to tear.

"He crossed the line; he went from treasure hunter and spy, to, to an assassin".

The responses to this were varied and interesting; Tails immediately looked round wildly as if expecting a knife to embed itself between his shoulder blades at any second. Amy gasped and covered her mouth with her hands; Sonic, almost unconsciously, putting his hand on her shoulder as he stared wide-eyed. Shadow took several steadying breaths as Knuckles bowed his head, coming to terms with the fact that his island was now polluted with the footsteps of a murderer. Tails seemed to regain his tongue first,

"So, so who did he, I mean, the victim…" Nack nodded at the young fox, motioning him to sit down and gritting his teeth,

"It wasn't a single person either, though that woulda been bad enough", the weasel forced the words out of him, "he killed, no, he massacred an entire family; mum, dad and three kids, in the night and then vanished; they didn't stand a chance. I saw it on the news; the murdering scum had left his mark on the wall in black pen. The rest of us had a meeting that night and ended it there and then; we all went our separate ways. We had a single code that we could say if we heard so much as a peep of Seraph's work. I was going to see Jess a few days ago and the mark was in her empty apartment. I contacted Rouge and then we ended up here". Nack finished, drained by his speech and waiting for the inevitable reaction.

_Oh hell, what have I done? Why did I bring Tails and Amy here?_

_A killer, this is bad news for all of us._

_If he gets his hands on the Master Emerald, oh dear gods no!_

_That poor family, I'll make you pay for this you freak._

_We need a plan, come on, think!_

Rouge looked at each of the Mobians who had helped her in the past and saw the same emotions reflected in every eye; there was fear, concern and just plain confusion. She had to say something, anything, but there were no words, no speech could ever have delivered the emotion she felt inside at that second, but she had to try.

"I'm sorry". Sonic glanced at her, not seeming to understand,

"Say wha'?"

"I'm sorry", she repeated, louder this time, "I didn't want any of you involved in this, in anything to do with this psycho. I…"

"Shush", Shadow stood up, a movement echoed by Knuckles as he said in a solemn voice, "you couldn't have controlled this even if you wanted to. We're here now and we can't change it; we'll just have to think of something to get Seraph behind bars and the two of you safe again". Knuckles, Amy, Tails and Sonic all nodded assent to this statement and Rouge felt her heart swell in both relief and happiness that finally, after seven years since the guild had split, she finally had people she could truly count on again.

**Firearm disposed of irretrievably. Conversation between targets and innocents contained partial truth. They will be prepared. A minor debt must be repaid to a target.**

"Nack, wait", Knuckles spoke up after a couple of minutes, his memory recalling something about the battle with Seraph he had endured the pervious night, "did Seraph always wear that mask, even in the guild? Did you ever see his face?" Nack scratched an ear, trying to remember any time he'd seen the killer unmasked but eventually shook his head,

"Na, not that I remember; he was always dressed like that before going on a mission, and we only ever saw him when he was on his way to a crime scene".

"Then how can he see anything; his mask didn't have any holes for eyes". To the echidna's amazement, the weasel grinned and slapped him on the shoulder,

"The hundred buck question; I lost count of how many times we asked him that in the guild but he never said. It looks creepy but we kinda got used to it after a while". Knuckles cursed this fact and tried to think of a place on the island that'd be big enough for them all to hide and safe from Seraph. Meanwhile, Rouge was explaining to Amy the potential danger she had been in, the pink hedgehog and an increasingly shocked Sonic lending a close ear.

"He must have broken in and taken my number, but anyway it doesn't matter now. At least you're safe". _That's more than Seraph'll be when I catch the son of a bitch_; for once Sonic was in agreement with himself; it could have been Knuckles, Shadow or Tails just as well as Amy but no-one threatened one of his friends and got away with it. The blue hedgehog clenched his fists, trying to do all in his power to stop himself taking off after the leather wearing freak. The information Nack and Rouge had told him screamed that this wasn't something he could rush into and hope to beat with his own abilities; if Seraph was as dangerous as he'd heard, he'd be the one getting hammered. To take his mind of the situation, the blue blur went over to Shadow as the black hedgehog peered all round; this was his first time up here he remembered.

"So, what d'ya think to the Floating Island then Shads? Pretty cool huh?"

_What the hell; Floating Island?_ Nack was befuddled by this statement from the hedgehog he recognised from the news as Sonic. Knuckles noticed this with a stab of panic – the less the weasel discovered about this place the better in his eyes. The echidna quietly approached Sonic and breathed out the corner of his mouth,

"Nack doesn't know the island's in the air; call it Angel Island". Sonic span to face him, only just remembering to lower his voice,

"How the hell could he not notice it, unless…"

"Rouge blindfolded him on the way in" the echidna answered before reaching a conclusion and raising his voice, "right, there's only one place I can think of where we'll all fit. Follow me and stick close together". When the echidna was sure Nack was looking away, Knuckles motioned to Sonic again,

"Don't let Nack know about the Floating Island unless it's necessary. Tell the others, right". Sonic nodded assent and hitched his rucksack over one shoulder, moving to keep Tails within his sight as the kit, realising the walker mode of the Tornado would just leave a trail for their pursuer to follow, moved and activated the security devices he'd built in. As the locks were fully deployed, the fox hopped down to the floor and smiled grimly; he had a few surprises of his own should he get a chance to use them.

The group of seven set off towards Knuckle's supposed haven, Knuckles in the lead and Shadow close behind him. Rouge and Amy were next, overseen by Tails and Nack, while Sonic unusually walked rear guard. The hedgehog was hating this; in normal circumstances he'd have shuttled all of them wherever Knuckles wanted to go in minutes, less with Shadow around, but under these circumstances his supersonic booms would only have alerted Seraph to the destination. He shrugged; he might not have liked it, but he stuck to the job like glue – he had already seen what had happened when their opponent had the advantage of surprise and vowed not to let it happen again. There was too much at stake; Seraph was a killer and if he managed to get a shot at them, at Tails, or even Amy, he didn't think he'd be able to live with himself. As he glanced around the bushes to his rear, Knuckles came to a halt and threw up a hand, eyes narrowed. Shadow stopped in time and whispered,

"What's up?" The black hedgehog tensed for a fight as Knuckles answered in a tone like velvet edged with steel,

"I thought I heard something; get Rouge". His answer was a single nod and a scuffling of feet. His eyes never left the track in front until he heard the bat's voice,

"What is it?"

"Can you hear anything?" he asked, motioning the rest to total silence as the bat strained her ears, trying to catch the faintest hint of any unnatural noise. After a couple of seconds, she shook her head,

"No, nothing out the ordinary, let's keep going". Knuckles waved the rest on as Rouge moved ahead slightly.

"Why'd you do it?" The quiet question caught Rouge off guard; she simply looked at Knuckles blankly.

"What?" The echidna turned to face her, eyes calculating as if sizing her up,

"I asked why'd you do it; why did you jump in front of me and Seraph?" The echidna's voice was quiet and she realised he wanted to keep this conversation private; she moved a little closer to him, pretending to be trying to listen for an imagined sound as her mind desperately tried to remember why. There had been a reason but she'd somehow contrived to have forgotten it in all the excitement of nearly getting gutted like a fish.

"Er, I, um, I did it because", ah, that'd do, "he wouldn't have hurt me". The answer caught Knuckles like a slap in the face; he was completely floored as Rouge came up with a decent explanation on the fly.

"Nack said that Jess had been kidnapped and I realised that Seraph wasn't out to kill. He wants us both alive; he couldn't risk hitting me with a knife, so he'd have to get away". Knuckles tried to reason with this but in the end gave up; it might have made sense, but then; he shrugged and simply said,

"Whatever, thanks anyway". _What the hell was I thinking; she'd never even look at me twice._

_You idiot – he practically gift wrapped that for you and you still blew it – I, I – I nothing, that was poor even for you, you're afraid of the true answer – why you…_ Both treasure hunters looked away from each other as Knuckles moved ahead slightly, looking for landmarks that would have shown him he was getting closer to his destination while Rouge maintained her façade of listening. Neither was aware that their entire conversation had been heard and recorded for future reference.

Too close for comfort, Seraph consulted a single scanning device that pinged away merrily, the light green glow from its display lending a sickly pallor to the black of his mask. Switching off the tracker and tapping the receiving bead in his ear, the former guild member swiftly plotted a course that ran parallel to his targets but remained separate enough to avoid detection. Movement was swift and silent, the emotionless monster brushing aside thorn bushes and taking cuts with no complaint; as it had been for the past seven years, any pain he may have felt as the blood flowed was completely crushed by the need for efficiency.

Nack sighed as he moved forwards; at least they were out of that bit of forest now. He felt naked and vulnerable without the gun by his side; it had been a part of him for too long for him not to miss it. Silently swearing every kind of bloody vengeance he could possibly think of on Seraph, he looked up and yelped, springing back as something large and pink bobbed up and down in front of him. Amy looked over the shoulder that didn't have the Piko Piko hammer slung over it.

"What?" Unable to speak for a minute, Nack simply raised a shaking finger and pointed at the so far inert hammer.

"Oh this", Amy mentioned nonchalantly, "this is my hammer; I always keep it close just in case". Regaining his voice, the weasel gave a long suffering sigh,

"Right, any other surprises I should know about; I know you can move quick" he said before Sonic could open his mouth. Tails waited, but as it became obvious Nack wasn't saying anything else, he stepped forwards,

"Well, I can fly a bit". Noting Nack's disbelieving glance, the kit shrugged off his backpack and twisted his tails, taking to the air and hovering in the air for a few seconds before sinking gently back to terra firma. He smiled sweetly as the weasel's jaw worked soundlessly for a second, eyes simply failing to believe what he'd just seen before he squeaked,

"No, no way".

"Yes way", the fox said gently; this wasn't the first time he'd had this reaction to his unusual gift, "useful skill; keeps me outta trouble, you know". The weasel just nodded and decided next time he'd just keep his mouth shut as both Tails and Amy smiled.

**Flight capacity noted in one target and one protector. Track down target movement. Plot most likely course of action.**

Moving more swiftly than his targets, Seraph had managed to get ahead of them and second guess their strategy. Though they outnumbered him seven to one, the mission had not changed. It would just take more time to achieve his aims; time meant little to him as his final vengeance moved closer to hand. The sight before him was not what he'd expected, but he swiftly realised allowed him to begin his methods more quickly and effectively than he'd previously estimated.


	11. Mind Games

Chapter 10 – Mind Games.

"Take a break guys, we're here". All six of the other travellers breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief as Knuckles made this statement. Cresting the slight rise he'd been travelling up, Shadow saw what the echidna had led them to and gave a low whistle.

"You build this yourself?" Knuckles nodded, a tinge of pride flavouring his tone as he answered,

"Yeah, I don't use it much but it should be safe for now. It'll be a squeeze, but it's better than being outside" he said, gazing at the small building he'd made with a firm nod. The low log structure had a wooden roof, made waterproof with tree resin, the cracks filled up with moss to prevent drafts. Everyone except Sonic and Tails, who had known of the shelter's existence even if they'd never actually visited it, complimented the echidna on his construction, even Rouge, well, in her own way at least.

"Nice digs Knucklehead; maybe those hands of yours can do more than just punch".

"That which destroys can also create" the echidna quoted, solemnly leading the group towards his shelter, ignoring the bat's sarcastic glance at the back of his head. There was a shuffle as Sonic strode forwards, clearly stamping his feet as he motioned to Knuckles,

"Yo red, the ground round the back clear as well?"

"Er, ye" Knuckles began, but by then it was too late; Sonic had simply taken off, covering the ground between them and the makeshift house in microseconds. There was simply a blur of movement as the hedgehog lapped the building nearly sixty times a second then simply reappeared in front of Knuckles, panting slightly but otherwise fine. The bemused looks he was getting simply encouraged his grin,

"Sorry, just had to let that out; two hours without a run, that's like torture". With an effort Knuckles suppressed a smile and simply walked past the hedgehog, calling behind him,

"Amy, control your boyfriend".

"Ah, my eyes, my eyes!" Tails mock-shrieked as the hedgehog's cheeks flamed and Shadow, Rouge and Nack let out a couple of snickers as Amy smiled, secretly wishing the echidna's words were true. Needing revenge, Sonic turned and hissed,

"Watch your mouth, dread-head". Rouge yawned to hide a smile; she'd have to remember that one as Knuckles paused for a second before giving a shudder and pressing on, refusing the opportunity to retaliate to the taunting hedgehog. Realising he wasn't going to provoke the echidna, Sonic sighed as his blush receded, watching as Shadow and Nack followed Knuckles into his shelter. Tails gave him an expectant look before moving on as Amy perked up, smiled slyly and said,

"Don't worry; he's only jealous he doesn't have one". The blue hedgehog shrugged before her words truly sunk in and he stuck his tongue out at her,

"And who said I did?"

"Aw, you love me really".

"You ain't gonna grind me down on this one Ames" the blue blur asserted, wagging a finger at the pink member of his species. Amy scowled again but then smiled,

"Drat, foiled again", she spoke in a villainous tone, "come on, let's get inside; you coming Rouge?"

"Hmm, er yeah, let's go". The question had caught the bat a bit off guard; for the oddest reasons, when Amy had mentioned about Knuckles being jealous, she'd felt a slight twinge of, of something inside herself. She mulled it over as she walked – what the hell could that have been?

**Targets and protectors in building. Let the games begin.**

The interior of the log building belied the fairly ramshackle outside; enough light leaked through small cracks in the wood to show off the qualities of the log house. It appeared to be simply two rooms, a large spacious area with a table and a single chair – _there was that twinge again – _and a door that led to a bedroom with a bed big enough for one echidna to fit on comfortably. Nack gave an appreciative whistle,

"Nice place".

"Thanks", Knuckles was shunting the table to one side of the room to maximise floor space, "don't use it much, but it's an okay retreat if I need it". Having finished his labours, he straightened and spoke up, scratching the back of his head,

"Right, this is going to be uncomfortable but it's the best I can do. Hands up if you've got a sleeping bag?" The quartet who had arrived on the Tornado raised their arms and Knuckles entwined his gloves, "good, that makes it a bit easier. I think the girls aught to take the bedroom and the rest in here; that's privacy taken care of".

"Sounds fine to me Knucks" Shadow said, his answer supported by Amy and Sonic. Rouge looked a little disproving, but as that was the way she always seemed to look at the echidna everyone let it lie. That was when Nack raised a question,

"Er, Knuckles…"

"Don't worry, you can sleep on the table".

"No, no, sleepin's fine as is", Nack gave a wry smile, "jus' wanted to know; where's the, er, restroom?"

If there was one instant, on infinitesimal second that Rouge could have pointed to and said 'I have self-control; this proves it', it would have been the second where she stopped herself cracking up helplessly as Knuckle's expression plummeted right through the floor. Sonic, of course, had fallen apart completely, Shadow was having to turn his back and pound a nearby wall while Amy shoulders were heaving with repressed laughter; even Nack chuckled as the echidna simply shuffled his feet and mumbled something about an outside building.

"So, so you're saying", Sonic managed to gasp, chest nearly bursting, "you built this b,beauty and forgot to make a,a,ahahahaha". He lost it again as Knuckles scrutinised the floor as though daring it to try and run away. Knuckles eventually looked up and Rouge was filled with triumph; he could blush, she could see the skin under his fur was red as a beetroot. Tails put his hand on the echidna's lower arm, trying to offer a crumb of support, but she reckoned it must have been hard when you were biting your glove to stop crumbling. She had another twinge but this time it was definitely obvious what of – you'd have to have a heart of solid stone not to feel a touch of pity for the poor chump. Shaking her head, she smiled at him; not a mocking grin but a small, supportive gesture to try and help him out; typical Knuckles, he either didn't notice or ignored her. _Sometimes I don't know why I bother_.

_Did she smile at me? It didn't look like her normal shark smile – why isn't she plunging the knife in?_ Knuckles concealed his internal struggle by smothering it with shame; like it was difficult at this moment in time. In the history of Knuckle's life of embarrassments this one was right up there, just underneath realising he'd been played like a fiddle by Eggman during the Death Egg saga. Eventually, however, seriousness sort of reasserted itself and Knuckles realised this was potentially a serious problem; he'd better address it quickly, preferably before he asked the ground to swallow him up.

"Umm, okay, settle down, this is a big problem…"

"Ah, just drill a hole in the wall, we'll be fine" Nack grinned, going to light up a smoke but stopped by a clout on the back of the head by a none-too-pleased Amy. The pink hedgehog scowled,

"That's disgusting, and don't smoke in here; the building's wooden, one false spark and we'll be kipping out in the cold".

"He's right as well", Rouge was looking a little pensive, "Seraph isn't going to care too much about social niceties like privacy; if he can strike, he will. I suggest if one needs to go, someone goes with them and waits outside, just to be on the safe side. And anyway", she gave her traditional smile to Knuckles, "you can't expect Knuckles to think about sensible things like an inside loo; he is a knucklehead after all". This just set Sonic off again, though he was trying to apologise to the echidna when he could force air to stay in his lungs. Just as the guardian was thinking of if anyone would mind if he left Rouge out for Seraph, he noticed something.

"You O.K. Tails?"

_What is it; there's something wrong in here but I can't see it. Come on, focus; just block out the noise and others and…hmmm, oh Knuckles_. The echidna's question derailed his chain of thought as he realised he was being spoken to.

"Er, yeah fine". Unsurprisingly, no-one brought it, Sonic sobering almost immediately,

"What's up, little bro? Don't worry, we're not going to laugh at you; we've got Knuckles for that". The kit licked his lips as Knuckles ignored Sonic with no small amount of dignity. After another couple of seconds, he shook his head,

"No, it's not there. I just think something's up, but I can't say what; it's probably nothing". A hand pressed on his shoulder and Tails looked up to see Nack regarding him with a knowledgeable look. The weasel spoke carefully,

"Listen kid, always trust your gut – if you think something's wrong, chances are something is. Just give it time and you'll see it in the end". The fox weighed the statement up in his mind and eventually brightened up a bit as Shadow escorted Amy outside, the pink hedgehog complaining that the walk was finally getting to her. Immediately the fox realised there was something wrong there,

"Wait, you forgot the paper" he blurted out without thinking. Not even Rouge could help herself that time as everyone promptly and utterly cracked up.

"D,Damn, kid; thanks I needed that" Nack eventually said, wiping the tears from his eyes as the others sort of picked themselves off the floor. Tails himself had originally been embarrassed but the hysterics had been the worst, most contagious kind available and had afflicted him as well. As Amy and Shadow reappeared, the black hedgehog looking like he'd spent most of his supposed 'guard time' rolling on the floor laughing, there was a low growl from somewhere. Tails desperately tried to get through to Nack that his name was Tails while Shadow winced, holding his stomach.

"Man I need some juice; my belly thinks its throats been cut". That was true, it was pressing on towards mid-afternoon and he'd only had a cup of coffee all day. By unspoken agreement everyone dug into their packs for some food to share; Knuckles' observation that they should bring supplies having come in useful. Rouge casually sauntered towards the table, reaching for an apple and raising it to her mouth; she'd eat other food on occasion, but mostly you just couldn't beat a juicy bit of fruit.

_Nah, it's still not there – Nack said trust it, so I'll keep looking. Hmm, wonder if I could bribe Sonic for half a chilli-dog. How can Shadow get by on just soup; I suppose it's the same as Rouge just eating…that's it!_ Quicker than a flash, Tails had dropped the bag of crisps he'd been about to open and rushed over to Rouge, slapping the apple out of her hands with a big sigh of relief. The bat's face darkened but before she could scold him, Tails turned to Knuckles, gabbling at top speed,

"Knuckles, when was the last time you were in here?" Not quite believing what he'd just seen, the echidna answered slowly, under the impression Tails was over-excited from the laughter they'd all just had.

"Umm, about a week ago; Tails, what…"

"That's it", the kit was right and subconsciously thanked Nack for not letting it drop, "you've been gone a week. In that case", he pointed at the table and the full fruit bowl, "who left the fruit there?"

**Most observant. Rest now. Move at night**

Silence pervaded the cabin as the fox's observation sank in; after a week, most fruit would have been mush; that had been done recently. No-one said the name but no-one needed to as Rouge kicked the fallen apple out the door before facing Tails.

"You little genius" she breathed, wondering how he'd managed to spot a detail as tiny as that and being all the more grateful for it. If that had been poisoned or drugged, she'd have simply gone under and nothing would have helped her. Without a word Sonic, who was closest, picked up the fruit bowl as if it were a time bomb, hurried to the door and simply chucked the offending comestibles out of it, face serious. The previously happy atmosphere was drained away as things turned deadly. The remainder of the day was spent devising guard duty for the night; there were seven, so it was decided that one Mobian could have a full night's sleep; after drawing straws, it was decided Amy was first (if Shadow realised Sonic used super speed to switch his straw with hers, he didn't let on). Just as dusk was falling, Knuckles, Nack and Tails went out to try and get some provisions for the morning; luckily, they came back unscathed with armloads of precious sweetberries and hickory nuts; there were groans of distaste at these bitter things, but these were quashed when Knuckles pointed out how good they were for you. As darkness descended, everyone began to bed down for the night and, by mutual agreement, Rouge and Shadow took first watch.

"Why did you say that earlier?" the hedgehog questioned when he was absolutely certain the others were all asleep. Rouge, not having the faintest clue what he was on about, looked suitably bamboozled until he added,

"You know, when you said that claptrap about Seraph wanting you alive so you jumped in the way". In the moonlight, Shadow's eyes were the only visible aspect of where the dark hedgehog actually was; even with her enhanced night sight Rouge really had to squint to pick him out.

"That wasn't claptrap it was true – if Seraph wanted Nack and I dead, he would have used that knife on Nack's back rather than just his gun strap". Rouge turned away, hoping against hope that he'd just let it drop. Shadow was silent for a few minutes and Rouge began to breathe a little easier, until, of course, he spoke again,

"Maybe", he partially conceded the point, "but that's not the whole truth is it? Be honest" he said at the last possible second, stifling her protests just before she built up a full head of steam. Wilting under his unnatural red-eyed gaze, the bat tried to deflect the question,

"What makes you think I'd do anything to help him?" To her surprise, Shadow started to laugh, eventually doubling over in a dry paroxysm of laughter, trying not to wake the others as Rouge flushed, grateful for the darkness concealing her shame.

"I trust you had a reason for that little outburst" she said quietly when he regained control. Shadow looked directly at her, eyes sparkling with mirth,

"You're asking me how I can tell? Me, who lives with Sonic 'I-don't-really-care-for-Amy-honest' Hedgehog and you ask how I can tell when Mobians actually care for each other under the surface?" the black hedgehog shrugged and then continued "and even if it wasn't for my training, as it were, throwing yourself in the way of a maniacal killer to protect someone is a pretty good indication you like them".

**Two guards, one a target. Impossible to cover entire parameter; just guarding front entrance. Maniacal is an incorrect term – desensitised is closer.**

Much as she tried to twist and squirm away from the issue, Rouge realised this was it; Shadow had pierced her façade of nonchalance and had the remorselessness necessary to grind the truth out of her. At least, worst come to worst, Shadow was discreet.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for him, but he's such a knucklehead, and anyway, it doesn't matter". An invisible eyebrow was raised,

"What makes you say that?"

"Um, let me fink", Rouge put on a quiet, yokel voice as she counted out on her fingers, "er, I tried to steal the Master Emerald more than once, I've been fighting him almost as long as I've known him, we constantly insult each other and he's …"

"Perfect", Shadow cut in and continued before she could retort, "face it Rouge, you like the guy, but you don't know if he likes you and you're afraid to ask". The last part wasn't accusing, merely factual but to Rouge it felt like someone had taken a whip to her ego. A large whip. Dipped in acid. Well, that was it; it was out now, nothing she could do about it. Only one thing for it,

"Fine, I like him, okay. Happy?", strangely, it actually felt good to say out loud what she'd kept inside for, she wasn't really sure how long, "what about him though? If he likes me, why doesn't he ask me?"

"He's just like you; afraid of asking for fear of getting hurt". Shadow looked up for a minute, seemingly stargazing as Rouge assessed what had been said, logically dissecting it and, she cursed, unable to find a hole in the points Shadow had raised. The only question now was; she had finally admitted she liked Knuckles, what should she do now?

**Time correct; sleep would be deepest. Disruption maximised and possibility of inducing mistakes optimal.**

As the two guards quickly disappeared to wake their replacements, there was a shuffling noise from one of the tallest trees nearest the cabin. Had there been any windows in the cabin itself, there would have been an opportunity to see a fleeting shade leap from the branches of that tree towards a target that was all too easy to hit.

"Hey Nack; c'mon, wake up" Shadow gently nudged the slumbering weasel, wanting to sleep desperately as Rouge tried to rouse Tails, the foxboy blearily coming to under the bat's prodding.

"Is, is it my watch?" Shadow choked back his own expression of tiredness as Nack let out a fearsome yawn before groping for his hat. Before Shadow could reply, a heavy thump caused them all to jump bolt upright. Rouge voiced the fear first, the urgency in her voice tangible as the others were swiftly woken.

"He's on the roof!"

**Noise level high. Maximise fear and confusion factors. Begin.**

All seven Mobians in the shelter listened intently with baited breath, each and every impact on the log cabin roof matching the frenzied beating of seven hearts. Anxiety and fear were etched on every face as the assassin probed the roof for a weak spot, the strong footfalls trying to cave in the timber above their heads. Adrenaline was pumping and singing in veins but not a single sound was uttered, not a peep was raised as the noise continued, primitive biological urges demanding silence as the beat went on. The space near the door was deserted in case Seraph still had Nack's stolen gun and decided to use it on its previous owner. Tension was palpable and the silence stretched to unendurable, but silence still remained nonetheless. Time was immaterial; it could have lasted ten seconds or ten hours, but eventually, there was a final flurry of rapid footsteps and then…silence.

**Training concluded. All opponents awakened. Sleep deprivation increases opportunities for error exploitation.**

"Do", in the unnatural stillness, Amy's voice sounded alien; she took a second to collect her courage and tried again, "do you think he's gone?"

"Yeah", Rouge's answering whisper was quick, "I can't hear anything at least". The sudden noise of flesh pounding flesh sent strained nerves snapping as Knuckles smacked a fist into his palm, face scowling,

"Only one way to find out", he stood up, pointing at Sonic and Tails, "back me up if I need it". The two mirrored the echidna's movements as Knuckles moved towards the door, edging towards it and finally, hesitantly, nudging it open. Taking a quick glance, the echidna nodded once and opened it more fully, dropping into a crouch and trying to look in all directions at once as he cautiously sidled under the doorframe itself. Everyone waited, tensed to spring into action at a second's notice if anything happened, but thankfully, Knuckles swiftly reappeared and breathed,

"It's clear".

Those words seemed to earth the tension and underlying concerns; in a split-second, the atmosphere was flooded with relief and everyone started talking at once. Eventually, however, Shadow stood to his full height, and his imposing posture quietened the hubbub. Speaking slowly, the black hedgehog began,

"From what I can tell, what just happened shows Seraph knows we're all here and he's trying to scare us. Question is; why is he doing it and what can we do to stop him?" The black hedgehog sat back down, aura of impressive seeming to diminish as his size was reduced. Tails spoke up next,

"I, er, I might know why – it's psychological warfare", the kit continued as Amy, Shadow and Knuckles looked at him in a confused manner, "he's trying little tricks to try and wear us down and make us more irritable, more likely to snap at each other and split up. That's when he'll go for us".

"Divide and conquer", Rouge chipped in, the bat massaging her eyes as a lack of sleep began to make its presence felt, "he can't attack us physically because there are too many of us, so he's trying to weaken our resolve by pulling stunts like that".

"You mean like keeping us awake at all hours?" Amy yawned, barely able to keep her eyes open as Nack nodded, fang gleaming in the moonlight,

"Yeah, and if I'm any guess, it'll get worse 'fore it gets better", the weasel cursed, glaring at the ceiling as though it was somehow responsible for their predicament, "if only I still had me gun, I'd have been able to cap him from down here".

"Yo newsflash", Sonic broke in with his typical lack of tact, "the creep probably already knew that; that's why he got rid of the damn thing".

"Sonic, stop the sarcasm; we're all tired and more likely to snap", Shadow said, noticing the look on Nack's face, "snap leads to anger, which leads to argument…"

"And Seraph just waltzes in and does what he fancies", Sonic concluded with a frown, "right, okay; sorry dude". He gestured towards Nack, who gave a tight smile,

"No problem; at least not yet", the weasel said with a heavy sigh, "he can probably keep this up as long as he needs to and wear us down. We need to strike back, and fast".

**Unwise. No guard following distraction. Grenade invalid – risk of injury to innocents unacceptable. Proceed with games.**

No sleep was had that night, either by the hunter or the hunted.

Morning dawned, but brought with it only a second discovery that only seemed more terrifying than the noise of the night before – as Tails was escorted to the bathroom by Rouge, they were both stopped dead by the sight that awaited them on the end side of the log cabin. Urged by Tail's panicked shout, Sonic was at his shoulder in seconds, gazing at the black mark painted on the wood. The outline was that of an angel, a single, unbroken black outline that seemed at once beautiful and undeniably sinister. However, to the Mobians who gazed at it, this was a portent that simply stated _I got this close, I can get closer_. With a little help from a nearby spring and the water it provided, the mark was scoured off the side of the sanctuary, the wood washed clean of defilement. If only it were that easy to scour the mark from the minds of those who looked upon it.

Two nights followed; each with slightly different patterns but the same result; little or no sleep was had by those Seraph deemed prey. On the first, Tails rigged up a crude but effective net of low tech alarm systems and accompanying traps, each one primed and set with the help of Knuckles, who's practised eye helped pick out the best locations for each trap. For the first three hours of darkness there was nothing, but just as the two guard at the door (Amy and Nack) were daring to breathe a sigh of relief, there was a second impact on the roof and the nightly beat continued, this time longer and more frenetic, as though the macabre dance of the dangerous angel would speed up the process of sending his opponents mad. To add insult to injury, not a single one of the fox's traps had been sprung or alarms set off, a fact discovered when a blaring of a klaxon caused Shadow to nearly break down into a gibbering wreck as he broke an almost invisible tripwire. The third night may have been even worse; Knuckles, Sonic and Rouge volunteered to spend the entire night on the roof in waiting for Seraph, but again, just as sleep became deepest and most sweet, the silence was broken by a blinding flash and loud explosion just outside the door. The concussion grenade failed to do any structural damage bar scarring the wood, but again, all seven were jerked back to wakefulness. It was a slow and drawn out way of making progress, but all that mattered was that it got results. And slowly but surely, it was getting them.

_I need to run_ Sonic was thinking hard, head down and trying his damnedest to stop wrenching the door free and taking off, _I can't stay still any longer – damn you for doing this Seraph._

_Prisoner in my own home_ Knuckles thought with a twisted smile, the bitter irony sinking in as he wrung his hands together, trying to avoid lashing out at the tiniest things.

_How can he avoid all my traps, am I really that bad a mechanic – no, the Tornado, you built that – and what good's it doing now, none_ Tails shook his head, trying to think of something positive, but finding it increasingly difficult.

_This is all my fault, I should never have come_ Rouge looked over at the Mobians who had volunteered to help her, for no reason save it was the right thing to do, _right thing to do; might as well let Seraph take me, it'll…_ she shook her head, turning away to stop her tear-stained eyes showing.

_I'm no good, why am I even here_ Amy looked at the hammer in her hands, shaking her head, _even with it, I can't do anything like what any of others can. I'm just dead weight._

_Damn it all to hell; I screwed up not once but twice – I'll never get a better shot and I blew it and look at us now_ Nack twisted the hat in his hands, straining not to crack under pressure.

_You won't break me Seraph_ Shadow silently swore; the black hedgehog was acutely aware of how close to the edge they were all coming. At the deepest level of his heart, he also doubted his ability to hold to that vow.

No more than two stone's throws away, Seraph nested – from the information he was receiving indirectly from Knuckles, his strategy was paying off. This would be the final night; he would repay his debt to one target tomorrow evening and complete the take later that night should the opportunity arise. The gibbous moon peeked out from the clouds as though calling to his agent on Earth; as the dappled silver light fell on his mask, the blade of darkness moved on, inexorably closer to his targets and final vengeance.

"We've got to do this tonight", Knuckles was pacing around the interior of the cabin, the strain of three mostly sleepless nights showing in his slow, trudging stride, "if we don't we'll be at each other's throats after another couple of days".

"Knuckles, I understand your concerns, but at night, Seraph is going to have the advantage", Nack stood up as well as he answered the echidna, "he's going to be rested and expecting us to fight. He's also armed". The weasel let that point sink in as Amy joined in,

"Nack's right, we can't fight him; one of us could get hurt or worse". Knuckles stopped and stood still, rubbing his head as he saw the logic in their arguments.

"Sorry…"

"Don't apologise man", Sonic looked over from where he was stretching his legs, "we're all feeling it; you think I like being cooped up in here when I can hear all the free space on the island calling me?", the hedgehog cupped his ear with a hand, "I can hear it and it's pure torture, but there's just no way…"

"I'm sick of that…!"

**It begins. Rest and listen to opponent plans.**

"…All this 'there's no chance'", it had finally boiled over for the echidna; he was tired, sick of too many people being in his space and angry at being held captive in his own territory, "how do we know that? I say we pile in and deal with this son of a …"

"Knuckles!", Rouge strode over and looked straight into the echidna's deep purple eyes, trying to stare the warrior down, "listen to yourself. Pile in against someone armed with a knife, or even a gun? That's plain stupid and you know it. Please, just try to cool off and see it from our point of view". The bat was so close she could feel the echidna's breath and see his dreadlocks move slightly as he calmed down with a visible effort. With his anger dissipated, he looked a lot less threatening and he raised tired eyes to the rest, smiling wearily,

"Sorry guys, I shouldn't have blown my top like that".

"I thought the faker said not to apologise" Shadow replied sardonically as Sonic did the bunny ears behind his head and Nack smiled, adjusting his hat,

"Aye, don't sweat it; Rouge said you had people problems so I was kinda expecting this".

"Oh she did, did she?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow at the smirking white bat as she struck her victory pose, "well, did she tell you about her…"

"Got it", Tails leapt straight up, eyes shining with triumph as he rummaged in his backpack, "maybe we can do both". As the other six Mobians waited, the fox called over his shoulder,

"We'll have half in here to bait him in and half outside to surprise him, these'll let each group stay in touch" he declared as he produced a pair of hand-held radios, waiting for the reaction. There was a murmur of assent, which grew into a consensus, which finally matured into full blown acclaim for the fox's ingenuity. Swiftly, the plans were drawn up and the group split into the bait and the ambushers. Amy, Shadow and Tails remained inside as Rouge, Knuckles, Sonic and Nack arranged themselves outside, waiting for the angel to fly right into them.

**A sound strategy. Speaking to planner a priority. Inappropriate tool selection – more sleep grenade should have been selected. Restock impractical – use tools available.**

The darkness deepened as Seraph moved on, consciously reminding himself of his new plan of attack in the light of this new information. The assassin remembered, filtered and catalogued his memory, eventually settling on the plan that had the highest chance of success and the easier route of escape should anything go wrong.


	12. Guilty Conscience

Chapter 11 – Guilty Conscience.

The first indication they had that things had gone wrong was when the smoke bomb went off.

Completely lost in the thick, black residue from the explosion, the four would-be ambushers were blind to the events that were being played out in the cabin itself. As soon as he had neutralised the major threat, Seraph was sprinting for the door, concealed by the night and the smoke from his grenade. He could hear a mighty scramble from inside the structure and the door was beginning to open. Launching himself forwards in a flat out dive, he took the surprised doorman in the chest.

Amy screamed as Shadow crashed back through the door he had just opened with a second, equally dark figure latched onto him. Her Piko Piko hammer was instantly in her hands but she knew she couldn't use it safely yet; she was as likely to hit Shadow as Seraph as the two wrestled on the floor. Tails, realising his plan had gone up in smoke and feeling pretty peeved about it jumped right in, pounding with his fists and snapping with his sharp teeth. However, brave as Shadow and Tails were, they didn't have the experience and knowledge that Seraph did in fighting. Loosening a single arm from the melee, the dark angel threw a short but brutal punch that sent Shadow reeling away choking and span to his feet, assessing the situation as both Tails and Amy rallied.

**No targets. Law states kidnap illegal. Require medium to repay debt. Medium discovered.**

There was no indication as Seraph suddenly moved, darting forwards and dodging the swing of Amy's hammer, getting within its sweep. Tails threw himself at the assassin, determined not to let him hurt the female hedgehog and rewarded as his teeth sank into one of Seraph's arm guards, though he couldn't penetrate the oily fabric. However, his target seemed unfazed and gripped onto the handle of the famous pink hammer as Amy brought it back for a second swing. Shaking Tails off momentarily, Seraph twisted the hammer handle as he tugged, forcing Amy to let go or risk breaking her own wrists. As soon as it was clear, the black clad demon was away, vaulting over Shadow's kneeling form as the black hedgehog fought for breath, then back outside, the cover afforded by his grenade dissipating as he raced for the tree line. The extra weight of the hammer slowed him a little, but it was overall immaterial as the others regrouped to check the damage his assault had wrought.

"Shadow", Nack coughed the thick, black residue out of his lungs before trying again, "Tails, Amy – talk to me". As his stinging eyes cleared, the weasel raced towards the door of his cabin, praying that by some miracle the ones he had tried to protect would be safe. As he got to his destination, he heard a voice that pierced his heart with pure, sweet relief,

"Nack, we're all fine, he didn't hurt us. Shadow took a hit but that's all". As his eyes swept around, he felt light-headed with relief as he saw that Tails wasn't wrong; Shadow was recapturing his breath as he pushed himself to his knees but neither of the two younger Mobians looked touched. Before he could get a closer look, he was forcibly shoved to one side as Sonic blazed in, almost beside himself with worry.

"Tails, Amy what happened; if that psycho's touched…"

"Cool it Sonic", Shadow gasped as he regained his feet, "we're all okay, he just stole our weapons". Weapons; the blue hedgehog stood still for a second in confusion before he caught a look at Amy. The tears in her eyes and the quiet, heartbroken tone in her usually bubbly voice tore at Sonic's spirit as she whispered,

"My hammer, he took my hammer". Maybe the psychological warfare paid off, but the sight of Amy crying finally did it for Sonic; the red mist descended and, shrugging off the weasels' hand, he raced off into the jungle in pursuit of the assassin.

"What the hell was that?" The wind that buffeted Rouge was alien to her but instantly recognisable to Knuckles. The echidna swore and grabbed her arm,

"That was Sonic; c'mon, we gotta get after him before he does something stupid".

"Too late isn't it?" the bat remarked as she took off after the echidna, shouting over her shoulder for the others to stay inside.

There was nothing in Sonic's mind beyond the thought of exacting bloody, painful vengeance on Seraph. First he had messed all of their heads around for three days, now he had the gall to try and steal something from one of Sonic's closest friends. _When I get through with you, you'll have a damn good reason for wearing a mask_ Sonic cursed as he picked up a trail; he was nowhere near as skilled as Knuckles at tracking, but even he could follow this. His blistering speed left his allies behind as he sped towards the end of his trail.

**False trail successful. Proceed to endpoint. Medium prepared.**

"Here", Rouge shouted as her eyes quickly spotted the churned up mud and plants that seemed to follow wherever Sonic ran to. Knuckles hurried to her side and nodded,

"Yeah, that's Sonic all right, but this trail's false", he touched a snapped twig, a surprisingly gentle movement for someone with hands as large as his, "see, the sap's dried, this was done hours ago".

"Would Sonic know that?"

"Not a chance". The two treasure hunters met eyes as they arrived at the same conclusion; Sonic was running down a blind alley trap. Both pushed off, Rouge whispering down the radio Tails had given her for the rest to sit tight and wait for them.

Due to the fact he tended to move at high speed, Sonic's brain was able to process information at a rate that most scientists would have described as astounding. As such, he was able to follow a trail despite moving fast enough to set the sound barrier creaking. However, seeing something was only half the battle; he had to have enough time to react to it as well. Sonic saw the trap as the trail began to peter out, but with his mind occupied with visions of ripping Seraph limb from limb messily, he didn't have time to react. His right foot landed squarely in the middle of the snare and immediately it tightened, pitching him flat on his face and causing him to gasp in pain; it was too tight, cutting off the circulation to his foot completely. Growling, the hedgehog flipped over, trying to loosen the wire before it did any more damage; the longer he was delayed here the more chance Seraph had of getting away. He was so preoccupied with trying to free himself that he barely noticed as something arced over his head and landed behind him with a thud. He spared it the briefest of glances; it was only due to his remarkable brain that he actually recognised it at all. He did a spectacular double take, palms beginning to sweat as the Piko Piko hammer lay in the dirt. A shadow fell over him and Sonic felt himself in the presence of the enemy.

**Research again useful. Sonic Hedgehog prone to acting irrationally. Use to deliver medium.**

With his enemy sliding out of the bushes in front of him, Sonic felt the anger within him reignite with a fierce flame. Roaring incoherently, the blue hedgehog threw himself forwards, curling into a ball and preparing for impact. Unfortunately for him, Seraph designed his traps well as there wasn't enough give in the snare for the attack to succeed properly; Seraph stepped backwards, denying the hedgehog a fair hit as Sonic reacquainted himself with the forest floor. He felt a rush of air and a foot pressed into the hedgehog's back. Sonic swore and prepared himself for the pain that was sure to follow. There was a second air rush and the pressure suddenly released, Seraph springing away as Sonic threw himself to his feet, snarling and getting ready to attack.

_So that's Seraph then_ the furious hedgehog thought quickly, trying to think what would work best against him, _well, that was stupid; you should have got me when you had the chance._ As Sonic prepared to act, he tensed as one of Seraph's hands moved slowly downwards, seemingly pointing at something in the floor. Sonic gave a tight smile,

"Yeah, like I'm falling for that one" he shouted as he revved up and ran straight at Seraph, using his traditional homing attack to weaken the former guild member.

**Hedgehog oblivious. Avoid and show.**

As the blue ball flew towards him, Seraph threw himself forwards and rolled under the aerial attack. Sonic landed and span on his heel, the positions of the two combatants swapped. Seraph pushed himself upright as Sonic sneered,

"Nice move, but you can't dodge forever". The dark figure didn't reply, instead crouching down slowly, hand descending to the floor. Sonic tensed, ready for treachery as it moved up again, holding something; on closer inspection, Sonic was jolted as he actually saw what it was and he finally noticed the Sypder in Seraph's other hand.

The snare dangled uselessly in the black glove, the trapping wire neatly bisected by the fine blade.

_He caught me, then let me go, why?_ Sonic's mind was in turmoil; the anger drained out of him as Seraph, realising that Sonic was no longer trying to fight him, snapped the deadly blade shut and replaced it on his belt. The blue hedgehog shook his head, coming back to himself as he tried to fathom out Seraph's modus operandi.

"You, you're seriously messed up", was the best he could come up with in the circumstances, "what the hell was that all about?" Sonic folded his arms as Seraph pointed to the hammer, then pointed to Sonic.

"Right, you want me to have the hammer? After you stole it?" The blue hedgehog was becoming increasingly confused as Seraph nodded, then pointed at him again, and indicated the way he had come; he seemed to be telling Sonic to go back. Keeping his eyes trained on the blue hedgehog, Seraph made his way slowly backwards when the hedgehog's voice stopped him,

"Hey, why the hell didn't you finish me off?" despite the fact he could have died, Sonic had to know, "I was helpless, why are you letting me go?" Sonic snorted as the black clad Mobian slid away and he knelt to pick up his hammer.

"Harm not the innocent".

It was a dry, throaty whisper, the voice rusty from ill use. As Sonic realised who it was who had spoken, he stared at the ground where Seraph had been; the assassin had vanished. He was in such shock it took a few minute for the fact someone was calling his name to register.

"Sonic", Knuckles had decided to hell with subtlety and was roaring at the top of his lungs, fearing for the blue hedgehog's safety, "Sonic, where are you? Answer me damn it". He fell silent as Rouge twitched her ears, listening for any possible response. Even he, however, could hear it as something approached from down the trail. It was moving fast and Knuckles felt his spirits rise a little at this fact; he doubted Seraph would want to alert his targets by moving so quickly.

"Sonic, where, you got the hammer?" The lecture Rouge had planned disappeared straight out of her head as the blue hedgehog appeared from the opposite direction, moving more slowly than usual due to the unwieldy nature of the weapon he now carried. He pulled up in front of the pair, face troubled and voice quiet.

"Hold on, you two; we've got some serious talking to do". Knuckles and Rouge swapped a glance and then silently held onto Sonic, the echidna holding the Piko Piko hammer do its weight was evenly distributed and it didn't upset the hedgehog's equilibrium. Taking a deep breath, the hedgehog sped off into the lightening gloom, heading for the cabin, unaware that he was being followed.

"Come on Sonic; we've been through too much for you not to come back from this". Tails muttered under his breath, fearfully watching out of the cabin door with Shadow as Nack was inside with Amy. The pink hedgehog was beside herself with guilt; both for letting her hammer be taken and then for Sonic running off after it. The weasel was doing all in his power short of physically restraining her to stop Amy running after him, quietly intoning filthy curses on the head of Seraph and all his family unto the thousandth generation. Tails looked up at Shadow, the black hedgehog was worried though he was doing his best to hide it. _Probably to avoid panicking me_ the fox thought glumly, resuming his prayers to ensure his brother's safe return. As if in divine answer, there was a sudden screech as Sonic pulled up just outside, allowing Rouge and Knuckles to disembark. Icy relief poured out of Tails as he whispered his thanks and a pink blur shot past him, glomping onto the front of Sonic.

"Sonikku, you're safe" Amy cried; not one of her normal bone breaking hugs, this was a gentle squeeze that just reaffirmed to her that he was actually there. To the surprise of most concerned, Sonic didn't jerk away or try to pry her loose; he simply gripped her shoulders softly, holding still as the female hedgehog took reassurance that her hero was unscathed.

"So, you made it back then?" Shadow had a quirky smile on his face, trying to conceal how relieved he actually was as he offered his hand and Tails joined Amy in hugging the blue hedgehog. To his concern, his blue counterpart was totally serious as he shook and answered quietly,

"Yes, I'm alright, but I shouldn't be", he raised his voice as the two younger Mobians let go and stepped back a bit, "everyone, we need to talk about this. Inside now, oh and Amy", he offered her the hammer he'd managed to rescue from his shadowy enemy; "this suits you better than me".

"Thanks Sonic" she said softly, giving him a smile that nearly made him melt as she followed him inside.

Once within the security of the log house, Sonic recounted his adventure to the others, telling them exactly what had happened and the incidents that had led to the recovery of Amy's hammer. There was silence as the hedgehog concluded,

"So he just gave it back to me. He could have done pretty much anything to me but he didn't, he just cut the snare and let me go", the hedgehog reclined on his sleeping bag, the narrowness of his escape finally getting to him, "he said something about not harming the innocent and then poof, just gone". Nack stared hard at Sonic as he said the last sentence.

"Hold up a sec; what did he say, exactly? This could be important". Sonic racked his brain, trying to remember Seraph's exact words,

"He said 'harm not the innocent'" he managed to stutter at last, causing the weasel to sink down with a relieved look on his face.

"So that's it; he's still goin' by the rules".

"Of course", Rouge slapped a hand to her head, cursing herself for not realising it earlier as several puzzle pieces came together nicely, "that's why he hasn't attacked any of you five". She indicated everyone bar Nack and herself. As their confusion became more evident, Nack continued,

"Remember I said about the guild laws, well one of them was not to hurt anyone who got in the way of your mission unless it was necessary – harm not the innocent".

"So that's why he didn't go for anyone when he broke in here", Tails snapped his fingers, "neither of you two were in here, so by that rule, he couldn't attack us because we were innocent. So why'd he snatch the mallet?" the fox gave voice to his thoughts.

"No idea about that, but that law's probably what saved your blue hide", Knuckles pointed at Sonic, "and why he didn't attack me until I was between him and where you two were staying; I wasn't in his way before, so he couldn't go for me". _Just as well_ the echidna thought privately.

"If that's the case, it appears Seraph is still living by the laws of this guild", Shadow intoned solemnly, "what were the other laws the guild had? If we know about these, we can perhaps use them to out advantage".

"Nice thought Blackie, now there…"

"Don't call me Blackie" Shadow growled at Nack, swallowing the unmeant insult like a toxic pill. Nack raised his eyebrows before continuing,

"There was that one, you stole only the specifics, er…"

"Follow the contract and the contract alone", Rouge chipped in before looking hard at Amy, a small frown on her face as she remembered the final, fourth law, "and always leave your mark at the scene of the crime".

**Leave the mark. Debt to target repaid.**

There was a clunk as Amy dropped her hammer into view, carefully scrutinising it for any marks of any sort. No-one knew her weapon as well as she did and quickly she realised one of the hearts that adorned the hammer haft was loose. Carefully moving it aside, she realised there was a piece of folded paper tucked neatly under the pink heart.

"It's here" she said simply as she extracted it with her nimble fingers. All six clustered round as she unfolded the paper. It was a small piece, and it was nearly brown with age. It showed the outline of the angel, but this time it appeared wrong; the left wing was totally missing leaving the mark unfinished, and on the right corner of the paper was a faded, dark brown stain. Under the angel in black pen with a neat hand were two words: _Remember this?_

Nack's world shattered.

The weasel threw himself backwards, staggering drunkenly as the memories he had hidden deepest resurfaced, tearing at his mind and threatening to destroy his sanity. He tried to tear his gaze away, stop looking at the dreaded mark, especially this mark, but failing as fear paralysed his reactions. In the kaleidoscope of images that spiralled in his mind, a single, recurring thought pummelled at his mind. _It's me, he's after me, just me!_ As his adrenaline kicked in, he made the only choice available to him; he ran.

All six were startled as Nack had moved, staring as the weasel jammed his hat down on his head, minds numb as his eyes unfocussed, mouth working as he tried in vain to exercise a nameless demon. With a sudden burst, the bounty hunter simply turned and ran headlong, barely pausing to open the door as he threw himself out of it. Shadow reacted first,

"Hey", the black hedgehog raced off after the weasel, mind hammering as he avoided turning on his shoes, "Nack, stop". Once outside, Shadow was easily able to outdistance the fleeing treasure hunter, flooring him with a well timed tackle.

"Hold it, Seraph's still out here".

"Let me go", Nack's words were shrill with hysteria, his eyes still unfocused and on the verge of hyperventilation, "he can't be stopped, he'll…" any further words were lost as the black hedgehog brought his hand back and slapped the weasel hard across the face, silencing his protests as Shadow tried to instil some sense of rationality into him. Eyes darting around to try and see if the area was clear, the hedgehog pulled Nack to his feet as someone else arrived; it was Rouge and Sonic, the bat in particular looking particularly concerned.

"Help me get him inside" the ultimate life-form said curtly, half-carrying, half-dragging the almost comatose weasel towards the sanctuary of Knuckle's cabin with the assistance of the other two.

**Unexpectedly violent reaction. Move swiftly – capitalisation possible.**

The other three were waiting for them; Knuckles pulled up the single chair and Amy dragged out a pink thermos flask, pouring out some tea as Nack slumped down into the chair, breathing gradually slowing down as slowly, he gathered what few wits he still had functioning. Approaching carefully, the hedgehog offered the cup,

"Here, drink this" she said in a placating tone of voice, hoping to try and calm the weasel down. There was no immediate reaction but eventually he looked up at her, eyes dull and almost lifeless as he silently reached forwards, seemingly lacking the energy to even hold the light plastic cup. Everyone waited with baited breath as he slowly sipped, the warmth of the liquid the only source of heat his numb body had at the minute. _It's because of me; I'm the reason behind all of this_; the thought ran through his mind over and over again, never slowing or ceasing for an instant. There was no hiding any more; if they'd had any suspicions before, that gut reaction had been as obvious a giveaway as you could ask for. At the back of his mind, Nack realised that all before had been a prelude; Seraph had toyed with him before delivering this hammer blow, hoping to flush him out into the open and damn him, it had so nearly worked. Finishing the drink, Nack swallowed and turned his eyes to all six of his new found friends; as he'd expected, they were waiting for an answer. Summoning up every ounce of courage and resolve he had left, the weasel spoke,

"I'm sorry".

"What about?" Rouge spoke gently, as though addressing a child; in his current state of mind Nack was capable of pretty much anything. She was worried, more nervous than she had been at any other time during this crisis; in all the time she'd known him, she'd never seen Nack lose his cool as bad as that. Her eyes darted to the note that Seraph had attached to the hammer, wondering what it meant and how it was connected to Nack. The weasel raised his eyes to meet hers and the tears in them couldn't be ignored. His voice was a mere croak as he answered,

"About all of this", she saw tears leak out the corners of his eyes as he lowered his head, trying to contain himself, "it's all my fault. I'm the one he's after, not you or Jess or Razzy, just me". Sonic spoke carefully as he sat down; even his poor standards of reading people could see that Nack was on the verge of breaking down as something terrible was pushing against his barriers.

"Why would it be your fault Nack? Seraph's after the guild and…"

"No", there was urgency in his voice now as he hissed the word venomously, "he wants me. He wants me dead".

"Nack, there's no reason to say that…" Rouge began, remembering their conversation at the airport; Jess had been taken alive as far as they knew, so why would Seraph want Nack dead, not the others?

"He wants me dead because", the weasel fortified himself, in a life of hard knocks, this was rating as possibly the hardest thing he'd ever done, "because seven years ago, I, I nearly, killed him". As Nack lowered his head and wept silently, the reactions of the other seven people involved in this business began to play out.

"Nack", Tails began, the fox pulling his sleeping bag tightly around himself to try and warm up a little, "I think you need to get some sleep. I'll take your watch and let you settle for the night". He was brought up short by the weasel's sob-choked voice,

"No, not no more", the weasel regarded Tails with blurred vision, trying to convey the urgency he was feeling; if he didn't say this now, he doubted he'd ever be rid of this millstone round his neck, "I gotta do this, and now, you gotta know…" The fox nodded mutely as Knuckles said solemnly,

"All right Nack, what's all this about", the echidna fished something off the cabin floor, "and what's the significance of this?" he asked, holding up the browned paper. Nack moaned and turned away from it, shaking uncontrollably as Shadow took the paper from Knuckles, concealing the dreaded outline. Rouge stepped forwards, gently putting a hand on the weasel's jacket shoulder and speaking calmly,

"Nack, tell us in your own time; we've got plenty. How did you get involved in that mark?" Swallowing bitterly, Nack put his hand gently on hers, taking strength from the fact at least one of the guild was here. Steeling himself as well as he could in the circumstances, he took a final, shuddering breath and started speaking,

"When, when we all saw what Seraph had done, there was an emergency meeting; just me, Jess, Chalkie and Razzy. We met up at the warehouse and, and we decided what to do next". The weasel paused, allowing Rouge to ask,

"I never knew about this meeting".

"We didn't want you involved; it wasn't your problem", Nack spoke as answer, "it was just the other original four members of the guild. We had to decide what to do next; no-one, not even Chalkie, thought Seraph would have committed a murder. We all met to try and explain it, but most important, we had to do something about Seraph. To us, he wasn't even a guild member any more – he was just a killer who'd led us on. It wasn't an easy choice, but in the end", Nack broke off, unable to continue for a minute as the images of that chaotic gathering crowded his mind; Razzy, bless his soft heart, had broken down in floods of tears when Jess had told him of the crime and Chalkie had needed restraining to avoid going after the killer alone, "we made a choice". Nack didn't need to explain to everyone what had been agreed; he could see Rouge and Tails widen their eyes, horror struck. The foxboy huddled down deeper in his sleeping bag, whispering,

"You all…"

"Not quite", Nack decided to spell it out at least for his own piece of mind; he was excising this cancer of his soul, all of it, and he was doing it now, "we decided that we couldn't shop Seraph – what happened in the guild would stay in the guild. We'd harboured a monster, so we'd deal with it; Seraph's victims would be avenged".

The atmosphere of the cabin went from cold to downright freezing as the implications of this went in deep; what was there to say? Nack's voice cut through the silence, the weasel desperate to finish what he'd started in the fear it would break him in twain if he failed.

"We tracked him down easily enough; he was in a small flat in Metropolis. Problem we had was choosing who would do it – not even Chalkie wanted to kill in cold blood, not even someone like Seraph. Only fair way to decide was drawin' straws".

"And you drew the wrong one". Knuckles finished for him, trying to imagine entering a game like that; murder on the line – he shuddered and realised just how resolved Nack and the other three guilders must have been to have gone through with it. The weasel nodded and smiled sadly, dried tears flaking off his whiskers as the deadly events of that night replayed in his mind. Forcing his thoughts into a logical order, Nack closed his eyes and recounted the memory etched indelibly in his mind,

"I went in at night; got to the door fine. Razzy had shown me how to use a skellie key, so I broke the door quiet. I had me gun drawn and ready, but there was a light coming from the front room. I was terrified and my hands were shaking, but I went in. He was there".

"What happened next Nack?" After a few seconds silence, Amy asked the final, major question, all at once not wanting to know the answer and morbidly fascinated as to how the battle had resolved. Nack was numb; the memory was hurting, but he'd felt so much pain from it he couldn't consciously feel it anymore; it was like he'd become a sponge, soaking it all up with no discomfort showing. His voice was a monotone as he answered the pink hedgehog, feeling like he was leaving his body a long way behind,

"He was sat in a padded chair, facing away from me. He was still dressed in his mission gear, like he hadn't changed. He saw me first and I made to shoot, but he didn't react. He just picked up a sketch pad an' turned back round in his seat. There was nothing I could do; bottling it wasn't an option, not after what he'd done, so I, I brought my gun up and, and…" He tailed off, but no-one present missed his index finger twitch as he replayed the gun exploding again in his mind, feeling the weird sense of coldness creep up on him as he dropped his firearm and saw the hole his round had punched in the back of the chair and the quiet, the absolute quiet that had followed the shot.

Rouge was unsure what to feel; pity for what Nack had been forced to do, anger for Seraph forcing this death to occur or just disbelief that the dark angel was still alive – no-one should have been able to survive a gun round from that range. Glancing round quickly, the bat saw the same struggle mirrored in the eyes of her friends and came to a decision. She gripped Nack's hand in hers, squeezing gently as she said the first words of comfort that came to her,"You did what you thought was right".

"Yeah Nack", Sonic affirmed her choice of phrase, face tight, "I don't think I'd have been able to do it, not even for Eggman".

"That wasn't all", the weasel's voice was strained as the final pieces of this puzzle were made plain, "I had to check he was gone an' I did; the round hadn't exited, but there were a few marks on his chest from shrapnel. He'd been sketching his mark but hadn't finished it; it had a bit of blood on it from his wound", leaving his seat on shaking legs, the weasel picked up the bit of paper from where Shadow had dropped it, "it's the same mark as this. After I saw he was dead, I just lost it and started hurling my guts up. As my back was turned, something hit me on the back of the head and I blacked out".

"Who hit you?"

"No idea, me back was turned", Nack reminded the echidna at this question, "but there weren't many suspects. When I came to, me gun was next to me and there was a cold draft. That's when I realised – Seraph's body was gone, there was just blood on the carpet and a window was open. I don't know how, but he cheated death and survived".

A decent but flawed recital. The night is well remembered. The one behind the events of that night will soon meet with the grudge I bear.

The listening chip he'd placed on Knuckles had done a better job than he'd anticipated; when the severity of Nack's reaction had been broadcast to him, Seraph had made his way to the cabin with all haste. When he had realised there were no guards on the door, Seraph had quickly and silently scrambled up the side of the building. His previous activity had paid off, some areas of the roof were weakened and after listening hard to determine where the cabin occupants were clustered, a little Sypder work had weakened a tiny section of the roof enough to suit his purpose. A gloved hand unclipped a single grenade from his belt; unlike the other featureless black armaments, this weapon was marked with small, horizontal tracks all around its equator. He had waited, and now he struck.

_The truth is out; if I ever meet the bloke who came up with that saying I owe him a drink_ Nack thought wryly, wrung out by the words he'd just spoken. He waited for the reaction; the storm was gathering, all it would take was a single spark to ignite it. Ah, here it comes, he saw Tails open his mouth but before any words came, there was a sharp crack from directly above him. Looking up, something swelled in his vision, something round and demarked; with a barely audible whump, it burst like an over-ripe plum. Nack felt something wet strike his face and almost immediately, his vision started to darken. _Seraph, how…_ his mind was muddled completely; despite a final rallying call from his body, Nack's world, that had so recently been shattered and repaired by lifting the burden of guilt from his soul, went totally dark.

The grenade had been marked by the tracks for a very specific reason; unlike the rest of Seraph's arsenal, this grenade couldn't be brought from any kind of market, black or otherwise. It had been specifically engineered by the dark one himself; instead of the blast or flash powder commonly found in such weapons, this grenade had a clear, viscous gel surrounding a tiny core of explosives. The gel was a mixture of strong sedative drugs that were absorbed through the skin, resulting in almost instant 'lights out' if it came into contact with anyone. This sleep bomb was an excellent example of ingenuity; it allowed entire rooms to be neutralised without harming anyone in them – essential when a target was surrounded by innocents. The fact that a sleeping target caused less fuss to move than a wounded one also had its merits; blood stains are a pain to cover when you're running like hell and trying not to leave a trail.

The door to the cabin opened silently, the kidnapper quickly peeking through the door to assure himself that the grenade had worked correctly. Yes – all were asleep, the target slumped on his chair with the others clustered around his seat, all caught within the radius of his sleep grenade. Moving silently and swiftly, Seraph picked his way through the bodies, keeping his senses tuned to check that no-one was shamming and about to jump up and attempt to prevent him completing his objectives. No-one stirred as he reached Nack and hauled him upright by his jacket, the dead weight resisting under the effects of gravity. With ease of long practise, Seraph slung the unconscious weasel over one shoulder, carefully making sure his legs and eyes were unimpeded by the dangling limbs. While he took a clear piece of paper and sketched the black angel outline, his eyes swept over the other six unconscious Mobians; none of them moved an inch as he placed the mark on the chair Nack had recently and unknowingly vacated. Seraph then moved to the door; though powerful, the drugs would only keep the innocents and secondary target under for about two to three hours. He should be able to get to the island edge by then, but every second wasted shaved his chances ever finer. At a rough jog, Seraph left into the night with his helpless target; his active mind was already running through possibilities of what may happen in the near future. The thought of pursuit was considered, but Seraph never considered it would have begun as quickly as it did.

_He's gone. I gotta; man Knuckles, who ate all the pies or what? Oh I hope everyone's alright._ As the kidnapper's footsteps receded into the distance, Tails opened his eyes and gave a heavy sigh of pure relief; for a heart-stopping second, he'd thought that Seraph had seen through his play acting. The fox had been lucky on at least three counts; firstly he'd already been deep in his sleeping bag when the bomb went off so most of his body had been shielded from the gel. Secondly, the fact his hair was naturally thicker than any of his friends had prevented the few flecks of goo that had hit his body from touching his skin and lastly Knuckles had landed almost directly on top of him as he'd toppled over. This had meant Tails had been less conspicuous to casual observation, but on the other hand Knuckles wasn't the lightest Mobian Tails had ever known and the fox was struggling to pull his legs clear. _Still, could have been worse; imagine if it had been Big, or even Eggman…_ Tails shuddered; he'd have either been squashed or suffocated had either of those two had fallen like his echidna friend had.

As he finally popped free from his sleeping bag, the kit's mind raced – the first thing to do was check everyone was alright and then try to figure out what had been in that thing. Rolling Knuckles onto his back, the fox rapidly reached a diagnosis of deep slumber; he was surprised half of Station Square wasn't being woken by the echidna's thunderous snoring, backed up by Shadow and Rouge's more delicate snuffles. Quickly rearranging everyone who needed it into the recovery position, Tails reached into his backpack, quietly vindicated as a little sneakiness of his own came into play.

Nack was still completely unconscious, but inside the tail of his jacket the tracker the foxboy genius had placed on him unawares was quietly transmitting his location. Tails read off the course Seraph must have been taking and saw the end point with a stab of horror. Looking quickly at his extremely limited options he made up his mind; scribbling a note and laying it carefully on top of the receiving unit of his tracking bug, the fox twisted his tails and took off after the assassin. Pushing himself hard and taking to the air when he could, Tails realised this was going to come right to the wire; despite the extra weight Seraph was carrying, the head start and his so far remorseless pace meant Tails was going to have to go to the extreme to catch up. Gritting his teeth, the fox tried even harder; he may not have known Nack long, but he wasn't going to let an acquaintance of his be taken if he could have a say in the matter.

A desperate race began; Seraph had the advantages of a head start and increased stamina and endurance but Nack's dead weight severely reduced his top speed, while Tails' sheer determination and powers of flight were compromised by his lack of sleep and proper food. As the dawn began to break across Angel Island, the two racers began to reach their goals just as the effects of Seraph's grenade began to finally wear off.

**Island edge. Ensure target unconscious during transport.**

Tails landed and stifled a groan; his tails were aching from the strain of flying for so long. As he looked around, he was just able to see Seraph; the black leather of his clothing visible as he casually swung Nack to the floor and reached to his belt. Tails caught his breath as a syringe was produced, some clear liquid was squirted out the end of it and then Seraph carefully inserted the needle into Nack's wrist, pumping the chemical into the weasel's still unmoving body. Tails finally found his voice as the dark angel snapped two pairs of handcuffs around Nack's wrists; the fox was scared of what Seraph was capable of laws or no laws, but his nature wasn't going to let this crime continue while he could stop it.

"Seraph, stop it!"

**Miles Prower. A mistake – he must have avoided the sleep grenade. Flight capable, combat abilities unknown. He is an innocent. Pursuit off island unlikely.**

If courage is not the lack of fear but the overcoming of it, in the second he met the blank visage of Seraph's mask and somehow held its gaze, Tails proved without a shadow of a doubt that he had a lion's heart. After a second of realising this, he even managed a small smile, though that vanished when he heard the clink of the handcuffs snapping around Seraph's own wrists; he'd chained himself to Nack and Tails was seized by a sudden fear.

"Don't do it", he shouted hurriedly, trying to keep calm as he forced himself to take a step forwards, "if you jump, you'll just prove everyone was right. Even if you survive the fall you'll never swim to Station Square, not with Nack chained to you like that". Tails approached slowly, hands raised in a placating manner, trying to talk the down what he thought was a suicide attempt.

**Concern unusual, but unfounded. No choice.**

From the fox's point of view, it appeared as though Seraph had paused, head slightly cocked to the left as if sizing up his smaller opponent. For a faint second, Tails thought he'd managed to talk him down, but that was before he saw the movement. From what he had assumed to be the back of Seraph's leather outfit, there was a sudden ripple as a cloak somehow came into view, or was it a small parachute? No, there were two of them, parallel and flexing – Tails felt his heart drop into his shoes as Seraph flexed his extra appendages – _He's got wings!_ Temporarily reeling from this previously unseen fact, Tails didn't see his opponent move until it was too late. Hoisting Nack upright, Seraph took as good a run up as was possible and then kicked off Angel Island, grasping his target by the wrists, unheeding the fox's final shout,

"NO!"

Ah, mindfreeze, _mindfreeze!_ Rouge rolled onto her front as thin needles of agony pushed downwards into her brain, holding her poor skull in her hands as she felt it begin to pound under the strain. _What hit me?_ – mind mostly obscured by pain, she nonetheless tried to piece her memory together. She'd been listening to Nack, he'd been really upset, she was certain of that, then something else had happened; it was important, but what was it? A groan from her left told the bat she wasn't alone in her suffering; shifting her eyes, she fought down a wave of nausea as Shadow revolved in her vision, the black hedgehog swimming as he flopped onto his back. She tried to communicate but swiftly realised someone had sandpapered her tongue; sucking vigorously for a few seconds, she tried again, wincing as her voice clanged in her ears like a church bell,

"Shadow, you okay?"

"The ceiling's spinning" the black hedgehog covered his eyes with an arm, trying to go back to sleep and forget the pain. The rest of her body was belatedly reported in; from what she could deduce, there was nothing seriously wrong with her bar the fact her brain had apparently gone on a sudden holiday and forgotten to tell the rest of her. Shaking her head, Rouge mustered all of her training and, with an effort that qualified as well beyond supermobian, pushed herself onto her hands and knees, waging an internal war against the sickness threatening to engulf her. She needed something special to win this fight, and she wasn't sure…

"Nice view" a weak voice from behind her commented and Rouge found the something extra – pure, primal hatred.

She had to win so she could kill Sonic for THAT COMMENT!

Pushing with her hands, the weakened spy collapsed backwards onto her knees, screwing her eyes shut to avoid looking at the jiving wall. The freeze was thawing; she wasn't in as much pain as before and her mind was sort of returning. Forcing herself to open her eyes, a quick glance told Rouge that Shadow was struggling to his knees and Sonic was thrashing weakly on the floor, trying to work up the momentum to roll onto his front. Amy was partially hidden behind the chair and seemed to be sleeping still, while Knuckles was snoring his head off at the foot of the chair. She couldn't see Tails or Nack and was about to wonder where they had wandered off to when she noticed something on the chair Nack had been sat on. Crawling over to it, she aligned herself next to Knuckles' prone form and leant on the side of the chair seat, trying to focus on the elusive bit of paper. It was still scuttling around a bit, she couldn't quite see it properly, but there was definitely something on it; it was in a horrible black colour that clashed with the stark white of the paper. It was a shape, with a pair of points at the top and…_Seraph!_

The name blew out a large number of the cobwebs at the same time it answered the question of where Nack had gone. Pushing wildly off from the chair itself, the bat scrabbled desperately for balance but failed, cursing the irony gods as she saw exactly where she was going to land.

The first Knuckles knew of the attack was when a crushing pain in his abdomen jerked him uncomfortably back to full wakefulness and the waiting army of nausea that was camped out waiting for him. Muggily, he tried to clamp a hand over his mouth as the fallen object clawed its way off him; the blur of white and pink in his vision nearly broke him as the forces of illness pushed forwards again.

"Knuckles, are you alright?" After hastily reminding himself of his own name, he even managed to recognise the voice at the same time he began to lose the sickness wars.

"Rouge?", he gagged as nausea began to carry the breach, "oh God, I'm gonna be sick!" He felt two hands grip him and drag him semi-upright as he fought a desperate rearguard action.

He wasn't going to last much longer; Rouge was using every ounce of strength and willpower to try and propel both Knuckles and herself to the door. Fortunately, Sonic appeared to have gathered enough to roll out the way as the pair hurtled forwards, Knuckles obviously crumbling fast by now. Barging the door open, she threw the echidna as far forwards as she could in her weakened condition, stumbling forwards to see if she could help as she heard him give out.

On his hands and knees, Knuckles was retching horrifically, unaware of anything beyond his own suffering as his body expelled his dinner, then his lunch and then started delving for his breakfast. He wasn't aware as Rouge rubbed between his shoulder blades, trying to soften the impact for him; he turned to try and see her in his peripheral vision but a violent lurch checked the motion. Unbeknownst to anyone there, Knuckles had caught the worst of the grenade and was therefore suffering the worst of the symptoms. Within the cabin itself, Sonic and Shadow were mostly throwing off the effects of the tranquilisers Seraph had packed his bomb with and were almost walking again, trying to wake Amy whilst wincing as the gargles of Knuckles' torment filtered through the wooden walls to them. To their eternal surprise, the pink hedgehog awoke lightly and complaining only of a mild headache and slightly upset stomach. As the three hedgehogs saw the mark Seraph had left and realised Tails was missing, the unpleasant gurgles from outside finally began to quieten.

Had he ever felt this weak – if he had he couldn't remember when. The arms that could normally smash through Eggman's robots like they were tin cans now seemed barely enough to stop him from collapsing into the mess he'd just made. He was trembling all over, but from what he couldn't say. He let out a weak sigh before his shoulder saw fit to mention to his mind that something was gently rubbing and patting them; he should really see what that was. Flicking his eyes round, Knuckles would have done a double take if he'd had the energy to do so; Rouge was looking at him with something approaching apprehension in her eyes.

"You feeling better?" She asked in a genuinely concerned voice. He smiled weakly,

"I don't think I could feel worse". That was certainly true; all he wanted to do now was get somewhere warm and comfortable and sleep from now until Doomsday. He didn't think Rouge was going to let that happen though,

"Can't be that bad; you just cracked a joke", she smiled, again, not her usual sharky smile but a more supportive and, more importantly, genuine article, "a typically bad joke, but a joke nonetheless. Can you stand?" She offered her hand and, after some test runs, Knuckles managed to get to his feet and walk unaided, though he was swaying a little as he felt light-headed from the illness. As she guided him carefully back to his own cabin, there was a sudden outburst of expletives from inside.


	13. Desperate Plan

Chapter 12 – Desperate Plan.

Tails watched helplessly as Seraph glided away, Nack dangling from his hands like a mouse being carried by a hawk. He briefly thought about giving chase but quickly realised that was a fool's errand; even if he could catch up, what then? If he interfered, all he'd be likely to do was knock Seraph into the ocean, which would probably drown both the assassin and his victim. He watched, wondering inwardly how the dark villain had been able to conceal his wings like that. Shaking his head and breathing deeply, the fox turned back the way he had come and plunged back into the interior of Angel Island – he had to tell the others what had happened and about Seraph's previously unknown gift of flight.

"Sonic wait", Amy laid a hand on the blue hedgehog's arm, trying to stop him taking off as soon as he'd finished reading Tails' note, "just hold on a sec and hold up for Knuckles and Rouge".

"There's no time", Sonic was nearly beside himself with anger at letting his guard down and fear for his little brother's safety, "he's gone off after this maniac on his own and, and I gotta make sure he's okay". Shadow stepped forwards from reading the note over Sonic's shoulder; typical Tails, it was concise and to the point; _Seraph took Nack. Use this to find me_ – the 'this' referring to the strange device now held in Sonic's other hand. Taking a second to organise his argument, the black hedgehog began,

"Sonic, Tails is a smart kid; he's not likely to run in blindly against someone like this freak. Look at the note; I reckon Tails is just following Seraph to see what he's up to", a thought came him and he quickly gripped onto it, "and remember what Rouge and Nack said, Seraph won't hurt anyone who's not in the way".

"I don't care about that; as far as I'm concerned that freak is just a psycho and Tails is in danger. I'm getting him back". With a wrench, Sonic tore free of Amy but found the door blocked by Knuckles and, just behind him, Rouge as well. Though dishevelled and sore, the echidna still managed a smile,

"Rushing into things again hedgehog; remember where that got you last time?", he quickly cut off Sonic's protests by stating, "don't go alone".

"Shadow", there was no room for disagreement in Sonic's voice now; this was more than just fun and games, Seraph had messed with the hedgehog's extended family and that was inexcusable, "keep up and follow me". Biting back a retort, the former ultimate life-form activated his jet shoes and took off after the blue blur.

Somewhere over the ocean between Angel Island and Station Square, Seraph's wings beat a little to gain more altitude. Carefully and painfully bringing up a single, shackled arm, he tapped a spot on his mask that concealed the receiver bead for Knuckles' chip. His next step would depend on his target's reaction to the information he had been forced to disclose. Miles Prower had proved an intriguing foe on more than one count and it would be interesting to see what plans he could concoct next.

As Sonic tore through the plains of Angel Island he kept on eye on the tracer unit that was bleeping in his hand. From what he could tell, he was gaining on the small green blip on the screen and that had to be a good thing. Training his eyes forwards, Sonic put on an extra burst of speed, just outdistancing Shadow as he sped for the edge of Knuckle's domain. He'd already left a couple of sonic booms in his wake which would hopefully alert Tails to his coming; if the fox was still able to he'd head towards them.

Forcing his weary tails to lift him skywards once more, Tails hovered upwards as the trademark explosions reached his ears. His eyes scanned around to see the familiar trail of displaced air stripping leaves off trees and kicking up dust not too far ahead of him. Wetting his lips, Tails carefully inserted his fingers into his mouth and gave a sharp, piercing whistle.

The signal reached Sonic's ears and immediately his eyes flew skywards; that whistle meant Tails was sky bound and nearby. His heart filled with relief as he saw his beloved brother's helicopter impression not far on the right. Spinning on a dime with Shadow following suit, Sonic rearranged his path to reunite him with Tails. He must have been spotted by the fox's keen eyes as Tails descended to meet both himself and Shadow as they pulled up near enough under him. Sonic gave a sigh of relief as he quickly asserted Tails was unharmed and, if anything, eager to tell them something. The kit bounded up to them, concern on his face as his words spilled out in a torrent,

"He took Nack and flew off, the tracker won't follow him to Station Square but we could go in the Tornado and…"

"Whoa, cool it little guy", Shadow gently put a hand on the kit's head, calming the young fox down as he continued, "you're making less sense than Sonic on a sugar high. Take a breath and organise your thoughts". Sonic muscled in, carefully examining Tails before began speaking,

"Are you alright?" Tails nodded before Sonic added,

"He didn't hurt you?"

"No, but…" The hedgehog smiled again, relieved that some of his sheer dumb luck appeared to have rubbed off on Tails,

"That's my bro, but running off into danger's my job; next time at least wake me up first". Tails' mouth fell open in surprise,

"You can talk about running off – and anyway I couldn't have woken you; you were sleeping through Knuckles' snoring for crying out loud. Anyway, we need to get back; there's something we didn't know about before".

"What happened to Nack?" That question from Shadow burst the bubble and the kit felt guilt wash over him like cloying swamp water.

"Seraph took him, there was nothing I could do". Shadow put his hand on the fox's shoulder as Tails looked at the floor,

"You did the best you could Tails; we'll get Nack safe again and force Seraph to pay penance for his crimes". The black hedgehog's conviction was unwavering as Tails tried to draw strength from it. Sonic gave a thumbs up and smiled as he flattened his spikes,

"Okay, climb on and let's get back; sooner we talk about this the sooner we figure out what to do". Sonic crouched a little as he felt Tails grip onto his shoulders before winking at Shadow.

"See you at the cabin; I've got my handicap now so this should be a fair race".

"Really", Shadow had mastered the sceptical raised eyebrow, "you couldn't outrun me if I was carrying Eggman". Sonic shuddered and grimaced at the thought,

"Now there's an image I didn't need", he glanced at his wrist, whistling slightly, "well go on, I'm giving you a head-start".

"If you two don't get going you'll both get a handicap". Much as Tails appreciated the smart talking, this was neither the time nor the place. Hearing his tone, both hedgehogs shared a glance and then took off, racing back to the cabin.

Looking up from where Knuckles was catching his breath and slowly sipping a glass of cold water, Rouge smiled. Mentioning to Amy that she was going to keep watch for the two hedgehogs, she stepped outside just as a cloud of small debris announced the arrival of the Sonic, Shadow and, she squinted a bit and flushed with relief, Tails as well, the little fox detaching himself from Sonic as the blue hedgehog snorted at Shadow.

"See, even with Tails I can still stay level with ya".

"Oh, that was a race?" The black hedgehog looked mildly surprised, "I thought it was a stroll". Sonic scowled, but before he could come up with a decent comeback Rouge gripped his shoulder and motioned towards Tails,

"Fascinating as this is, we've got bigger fish to fry; come on in, Knucklehead's just about recovered; watch were you step Tails". Raising an eyebrow, Tails decided it was probably best not to ask. As he was about to voice one of the theories he'd come up with during his morning race he flinched at the sound of flesh impacting on flesh at high velocity.

"Owww, what was…?"

"You know very well what for Sonic Hedgehog", Rouge recocked her arm from the slap she'd just delivered to the blue hedgehog's cheek, "'Nice view' – one more comment like that and the only view you'll be getting is the sole of my boot". Again deciding silence was golden, Tails spoke up,

"Rouge, get Knucks and Amy out here – Seraph's not on the island any more but I don't think that cabin is safe to speak in" he said by way of explanation. Having some suspicions of her own, the female bat simply nodded and moved back inside as Shadow asked,

"What do you thinks' wrong with it?"

"Isn't it a bit suspicious that Seraph knew about our plans to set up traps, then to ambush him?" Tails craned his neck to see up onto the roof, almost seeing the flying menace placing a radio bug on the wooden roof, listening in on them as all seven, _six now_ he bitterly reminded himself, plotted to stop him. "I reckon he bugged the place when he was disturbing us one night; he must have heard everything and come up with counter strikes".

"Hey Tails", Amy was perked up a little as she saw the young fox was unharmed. The kit returned the smile before looking seriously at Knuckles.

"We need to get somewhere else private" he remarked as Rouge affirmed his seemingly random words,

"Ever thought of working as a spy Tails; you've got the mind set for it".

"What, he's obsessed with jewels and insults everyone?" Knuckles remarked caustically.

"Better than being paranoid and thinking only with your fists", she retorted, smiling sweetly at the echidna as he decided to call that one even, "you think Seraph's rigged the place?"

"Yep", as always, Sonic was struck by his younger brother's maturity and ability to think outside the box as Tails continued, "we need to go somewhere else before we start devising any plans".

"What about the waterfall", Amy piped up, thinking hard as she twirled the hammer in her hands, "he couldn't have put anything there".

"Nice idea Ames" Knuckles commented as he realised that Seraph had probably never seen that place. Turning to the others he spoke up,

"Right, same path as before but, you're sure he's gone?"

"Yeah, I saw him take off".

"Okay, same path as before but a bit quicker".

The journey from Knuckles' log house to the waterfall where Nack and Rouge had briefly stayed was much shorter than the first leg due to the fact that the remaining party was moving at their full speed. Sonic and Shadow had vanished in a 'proper race' as Sonic had dubbed it as now both were carrying handicaps; Shadow had Amy curled around his shoulders while Sonic was carrying his brother again. Rouge had taken to the air as she taunted Knuckles that she'd get there before him, jetting off towards the running water as the echidna, determined not to be embarrassed by the bat on his home turf, scrambled over the rough terrain with an ease that spoke of decades of practise. As she soared aloft on the morning breeze, Rouge silently offered a heartfelt plea that, whatever Seraph had planned, Nack would somehow pull through and that by some miracle, she would be spared the weasels' fate.

"Dead heat", Rouge heard the gruff voice as soon as she touched earth, folding her wings around her as Knuckles clumped up behind her, breathing a little heavily but otherwise fine from his early morning exercise.

"I was going easy on you" she said without conviction, mind still on what might be happening to Nack as she absently pulled a few edible berries off a nearby bush.

"You alright?" The question was gentle and made Rouge pause uncharacteristically, unsure quite how to react to Knuckle's concern. She might have decided on honesty, but what she did was reinforce her traditional barriers of sassiness.

"You worried about me Knucklehead", she said in a cocky tone she didn't really feel, "someone's going a bit soft". She reached out to try and pinch his cheek but he swatted her hand aside contemptuously,

"Forget I asked", he was fuming at himself for even trying to show any feelings bar anger and spite towards her; she'd never understand, "the others are already here". He span on his heel and stalked away, leaving the bat cursing herself inwardly again for missing another opportunity because of her own stupid pride.

"Okay Tails, spill the beans", Amy remarked as the pair of treasure hunters came into earshot, though she didn't miss the looks on their faces or the pointed way they sat apart from each other, "what happened when we all went out?"

"Well firstly Knuckles landed on me", Tails began, watching as the echidna rolled his eyes and Sonic chortled – _Strange, Rouge isn't laughing, must be because of Nack_ – he shook his head and carried on, "then I heard him outside the door. That stuff had knocked you all out, so I played dead and hoped he didn't look too closely. He came in and I froze; I heard him check round. There was some shuffling and creaking and I realised he must have picked Nack up because his footsteps were heavier on the way out. When he was gone, I wriggled free and used this to see where he was going". The fox produced the receiver unit for his tracker bugs as Rouge nodded appreciatively,

"Nice move foxboy; when'd you bug Nack?"

"Same time I put the bug on the sole of your left boot" Tails said mildly, inwardly celebrating as Rouge's face fell and she tried to check if the bug was actually there. Pulling her boot off, the bat felt her eyes widen; the tricky little beast had pulled a fast one to get that there. Sonic gave his little brother a thumbs-up,

"Nice one bro, but", he looked confused as he considered something, "why didn't you tell Nack, or Rouge for that matter?"

"Simple, I didn't want Seraph to know. Think about it; the less people know about that fact, the less likely Seraph was to find out", the fox's face fell as he admitted, "but it's not going to matter now; the bug's not strong enough to transmit from Station Square".

**Fortunate. Miles Prower upgraded to extremely intelligent opponent. Check target for tracking devices upon arrival.**

"I swear you should be a spy", Rouge commented as she put her boot back on, "you really are wasted as a mechanic".

"That's debatable, but anyway, I was going to use the receiver to trace Seraph's route to his transport, but I saw he was heading straight for the island edge".

"A pick up point?" Knuckles was instantly alert; Seraph could have told outside forces where to find Angel Island and that could be disastrous. Tails shared his concerns,

"That was what I thought so I followed straight away, leaving the note behind. It was a hard run and I was nearly too late, but I got there just in time", the fox had them all on the hook by now and decided to play up to it a bit, "I landed and just saw him inject Nack with something, I think it was another tranq, then he, he put handcuffs on Nack's wrists".

"Handcuffs?" Shadow appeared perplexed by this, "what good would that do?"

"I wasn't sure at first either", Tails admitted before continuing his story, "I thought he was going to jump, so I spoke out and tried to talk to him. Didn't work and then I realised why he'd gone to the island edge. He didn't need any transport; he'd got his own with him". The fox sat back as Amy managed to grasp the hidden meaning in that statement,

"You mean…"

"Yep, the angel can fly".

There was a minute of silence before everyone started talking at once; it was only by shouting above the throng that Knuckles managed to get them all to quieten down. Taking a breath, the echidna asked his question to Tails,

"Right, you're saying he took off and carried Nack with him?"

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes" Tails affirmed.

"Do you think he can get to Station Square?"

"He seems to think he can", Sonic chipped in, grinning before turning serious, "but I really don't think he'll be in a fit state to do much of anything when he lands; that sort of flight'll shatter anyone".

"Exactly", Knuckles considered for a second before speaking up again, "I don't think Seraph can fly there with Nack and then fly back here in the same day, so we've got a bit of breathing space. So here's what I suggest; we get some food, some rest and we get cleaned up while we can. Any objections?" He wasn't expecting any, but in his heart of hearts wasn't too surprised when Rouge raised a point,

"Yeah, one thing; what did his wings look like?"

Tails cursed himself for omitting that detail as he recalled the appearance of his enemy; every nuance of Seraph's true form coming back to him as he tried to answer the bat. Mistaking the silence for a lack of answers, Amy spoke encouragingly,

"Were they feathered?"

"No, no I definitely remember that; they were like yours Rouge, but they looked different". The bat scratched her chin as she pressed for answers, an idea beginning to form in her mind as she extended the wing closest to the fox.

"Different how; trace it for me". Slowly, Tails stood and carefully drew a finger across the thin skin of the bat's wing, speaking as he recalled the rough dimensions of the natural propellers,

"They were longer and less deep than yours, and more angular too; they looked a bit like the wings of a plane. He hid them too", finishing the tracing, Tails placed both his hands at the small of his back, raising them up slowly in the manner Seraph had extended his wings, "I didn't see them at first, they were hugging his back".

"Oh fantastic". Rouge groaned aloud; that had been the final bit of proof she needed to come to an unshakeable conclusion.

"What's up Rouge; he's a bat like you?" Shadow enquired.

"Yes and no", the spy replied, smiling sadly as she tried to clear up the confusion of her cryptic answer, "he's probably a bat, the non-feathered wings gives that away, but if what Tails said is right he's nothing like me. He's a bloodsucker".

"A vampire?" Amy said aghast, causing Rouge to chuckle as the others swapped uneasy glances all around,

"Close; I think Seraph's a vampire bat".

**Increase threat parameters of these individuals. Knowledge powerful – opponents may capitalise.**

"Is there any way to prove that?" Sonic was looking a little pensive at this information; he'd never heard of vampire bats before and didn't like the sound of them.

"Only if you can get his mask off", Rouge chuckled at the look of panic on Sonic's face at that, "vampire bats have longer teeth than fruit bats do, but you have to get up close to see that kind of thing. Any volunteers?" _Didn't think so, but I don't blame anyone._

"What do you know about vampire bats, and what differentiates them from, er, you?"

"You said the difference foxboy; the wings are a major giveaway. It's not possible for me to get my wings as close to my back as you said Seraph's were". As if to emphasise the point, Rouge half spun and tried to bring her wings in tight to her back. All five other Mobians could see the strain on her face as she tried but ultimately failed to touch her wingtips to the back of her thighs.

"Only vamps can do that naturally" she panted, glancing up as Knuckles' chin sank onto his fist,

"Right, what else do you know about them?" _He's still angry – he never forgets a grudge_, she shook herself slightly,

"Not much", she admitted, "vampire bats aren't common, but I'm told they've got better echolocation than my sort, and their eyes are said to be weak in sunlight".

"That would explain why he works at night, and his mask; he'd have a major advantage at night if he can see better than his prey" Shadow explained as Rouge agreed with her former team partner. Amy then raised a question tentatively,

"Umm, you know the name, I mean, do they really drink, er…"

"I've never asked", Rouge answered delicately before masking an evil grin, "but I'm a fruit bat and I eat fruit, so I don't see why he…" Amy squeaked and trembled as Tails laid a hand on her arm and glared at the spy. Standing up, Rouge held her hand out to the pink hedgehog, saying confidently,

"Don't worry Amy, he's not after you. Now you lot", she pointed to the remaining four Mobians, "clear off; we're going for a bath. Go get something to eat, and towels from that hut you call home" she said to Knuckles as he raised his eyebrows.

"And why should we do anything", Shadow stopped dead as Rouge began to unclip the back of her jumpsuit, "come on guys, food it is". All four vanished suddenly, Knuckles breathing out the corner of his mouth as he disappeared,

"You're shameless".

"Whatever works" the bat called after him; she wouldn't have really done anything but they didn't have to know that. Facing back to the waterfall again, Rouge felt herself get a hefty shove from Amy, the pink hedgehog smirking mischievously,

"Shame on you, scaring them like that". Rouge chuckled as she really did slip out of her garments, Amy following suit more slowly,

"Lesson number one, grasshopper; men are both fascinated and terrified by the female form. Use this to your advantage. Ohhh, that's cold" the bat exclaimed as she put a tentative toe into the water. That was followed by an all-out scream as Amy shoved again, sending Rouge tumbling right into the freezing depths. As the bat panted to try and get over the iciness of the water, Amy smirked again.

"And that's for trying to scare me – blood drinking vampire bats, for the love of ggaaahhh!" Rouge hadn't been lying; the water was icy, a fact Amy found out as the bat sent a small tidal wave lancing upwards at her. Giving a fearsome war cry, the pink hedgehog plunged right in, going on the offensive in an all out water war where no quarter was asked or given.

"I say we go back and steal their clothes".

"Nah, they'll think we're perverts", Sonic shook his head at that idea from Tails before smiling, "I say we put poison ivy on their clothes".

"That's just cruel", Shadow chipped in, checking with Knuckles that the grapes he'd found were ripe enough to be picked, "besides, that'd just hack them off and Amy's nasty when she's got that hammer. What do you think Knuckles?" All three looked as the echidna shook his head at the berries he'd been examining, deciding they weren't ripe enough to be edible. Realising they were looking for an answer, Knuckles simply shrugged,

"I think we should stop this conversation and think about getting something to eat" he stated shortly, turning back round before Sonic's arm on his shoulder stopped him,

"Hey man, what's with you, this was your idea remember?"

"Yeah Knucks, you've been in a bad mood since this morning". Tails backed up his brother as the echidna went on the defensive,

"Excuse me for thinking that just because Seraph's gone for now doesn't mean he's not going to come back. I want us ready to fight him and get rid of the trespassers on my island".

"Does that include us Knuckles?" Shadow was deadly serious; the echidna was coming close to a dangerous barrier and the black hedgehog tensed himself. Perhaps realising he'd put a foot wrong, the echidna tried to check himself,

"No, no way, I didn't mean you guys".

"So who did you mean then?" Tails was as wary as Shadow; Knuckles wasn't the friendliest Mobian ever but he'd been improving recently. That didn't mean he was immune to relapses though.

"I, er I meant, umm", _who did I mean – could I throw any of them off, even her?_ For the first time in a long time, Knuckles was in doubt of his abilities as a Guardian; he was supposed to defend the island against all trespassers, especially those who had evil designs on the Master Emerald. But he couldn't get rid of any of these people; he couldn't be alone any more, not after his eyes had been opened by the events previously. Lowering both guard and voice, the echidna resigned himself to defeat,

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that".

"Don't sweat it Knucks", as always, Sonic was always willing to forgive and forget, clapping a hand on the echidna's shoulder, the same shoulder that had recently been drenched by Rouge's tears, "and you're right, we need to get ready. I'll get the towels, bear with me a minute". With a burst of speed Sonic took off, racing to Knuckles' cabin for the backpacks that Amy, Shadow, Tails and himself had brought from home. Shadow sensed an opportunity and motioned to Tails,

"Look, up there, sweetberries. Can you…"

"Gone". Tails had followed the extended finger and taken off; he loved the juicy sweetberries almost as much as Rouge did and that bunch looked particularly ripe and large. When he was gone, Shadow smiled a small, wicked smile and moved closer to Knuckles.

"She cares, you know".

With Station Square less than two miles distant, the gliding Seraph closed his eyes momentarily; the estimate he had heard earlier was correct. He had extended himself by this flight and would be unable to return to Angel Island today. His arms were growing heavy from carrying the unconscious form of Nack, but again his single overriding factor was completion of his mission. The information now was useful but largely irrelevant as kidnapping innocents as bait was outlawed for him. The tracer he used was waterproof, so even if the echidna did go for a swim, he'd be unlikely to damage or dislodge the tracer. The information was going to be crucial as the final target planned to escape his revenge.

"Huh?"

"Rouge, I mean", Shadow continued nonchalantly, popping a berry into his mouth as he went on, "under the surface, she gives a damn just like you do".

"You always were too observant – what's the old saying, never trust the quiet ones", Knuckles gave a gruff hint of gallows humour as Shadow was put on the back foot momentarily.

"What, no denials, no pleas that you hate her with every bone in your body? You surprise me". Knuckles gave the black hedgehog a sideways look and a crooked smile,

"I'm not a lot of things Shadow, but I am honest, even with myself". The echidna soldiered on through the bushes, looking for more berries as the black hedgehog asked casually,

"So why don't you ask her?"

"Why doesn't Sonic ask Amy?"

"Touché", Shadow considered for a second before deciding that wasn't enough, "but that's not all really is it, honestly?"

"No", Knuckles wasn't going to argue, it was pretty much pointless anyway, "but look Shadow, what have I got to offer, besides the Master Emerald" he said quickly to deter improper thoughts from the hedgehog. Shadow looked pensive for a little while before answering slowly,

"You've got a bit of a confidence problem; what's the worst she can say?"

"I don't think I'd stand it if she said no".

"I don't think she would", Shadow said encouragingly before smiling, "but it's in your own time Knucks".

"Good, I hate to rush things and speaking of rushing, here comes Sonic" he remarked as a boom reached his ears. Sure enough, just a few scant seconds later the blue blur pulled up besides them, clutching onto a quartet of clean linen. Noticing the furtive whispering, Sonic asked,

"What are you two conniving about?" Swapping a singing glance, Knuckles answered for the pair,

"We were discussing if termites or ants would be better for inside Rouge's jumpsuit". Sonic cringed.

"Hey, towels". The disembodied shout reached Rouge's ears as she relaxed under the waterfall itself, the coldness of the water lessened by exposure. Motioning Amy to sink down, the bat arranged herself so only her head was above water before shouting a response.

"Okay, leave them on the bank".

"Ahh, poor Tails" Amy remarked, chuckling as the fox emerged from the tree line, carrying the towels and walking with eyes tightly shut.

"Forwards a bit", the pink hedgehog tried to guide her friend, "little more, stop there. Okay, that'll do; leave them there and vamoose, and don't let me catch you peeking or else". The foxboy yipped, span on his heel and took off at Amy's words, doubtless imagining her wielding her almighty hammer to pound him if he did anything untoward.

"And they say I'm cruel". Rouge looked a little shocked at this new side of Amy as she sloshed forwards to get a towel. She regretted the words as a wave of water splashed over her back and she recommenced hostilities with her younger antagonist.

"Never again", Tails panted as his blush began to slowly recede and he stabbed daggers with his eyes at his sniggering friends, "never, ever again".

"Someday Tails, we'll all look back on this and laugh" Sonic assured him, trying not to make someday become today. Tails, however, became more serious as he remembered the actions of earlier,

"Nack might not". The humour fled away as the words ushered in a level of seriousness and all four male Mobians carefully picked up the food they'd been able to find and headed slowly back to the waterfall. As soon as they were within earshot, Sonic shouted,

"You two decent yet?"

"Two minutes" was the faint reply; Amy by the sound of it. After waiting the required time, the gatherers quickly approached the waterfall and the two girls. Unsurprisingly, both were fully reclothed and, from the looks of things, absolutely famished.

"Ah great, let's eat".

"Hold it", Shadow's voice stopped them all from tucking in, "we eat, then we decide what to do next, cool?" There was a general agreement from all present and all thought as they devoured the sweet fruits in front of them.

Landing on a deserted stretch of the peer, Seraph hustled his unconscious charge into the shadow of a nearby warehouse. Quickly unclipping the handcuffs, he stowed them away on his belt, locating the tracer Tails had been talking about and throwing it into the water as he checked the time. It wasn't yet midday; he required rest and to store away his target. His efficiency had been decreased as a result of little sleep for a few nights and the long flight he had just endured, complete with comatose passenger. The bat looked upward; he disliked the sunlight; it increased his chances of being discovered. He needed to get back to his lair with an unconscious weasel in broad daylight without being discovered – a challenge, but as his darkened eyes fell on a nearby liquor store, it was one he was quickly able to solve.

_Whew!_ The dingo was used to getting his fair share of tipsy passengers, but as he pulled up to this odd couple he realised this was more potent than most; he couldn't just smell the booze on them, he could practically taste it. The fact that the one flagging him down seemed to be in fancy dress didn't help dissuade his caution, nor did the fact that he seemed to be holding the other one up. The cabbie rolled his window down a smidgen,

"Er yeah mate; where you headed to?" The leather wearer seemed to continue flagging for a minute before looking down at the stationary vehicle as though he was sure it had just dropped from space. He seemed to shake his head before reaching down clumsily, the purple weasel on his arm slouching over drunkenly. Wondering quite what he was getting himself into, the taxi driver waited nervously as a small piece of paper was thrust forwards; the loopy, spidery writing took a bit of deciphering, but eventually the dingo managed to make sense of an address on the other side of town.

"Right, hop in". Checking in his rear view mirror, the cabbie heard and saw one of the rear doors pop open and the weasel, still apparently sound asleep, was thrown in. Arranging his friend and clipping on his seatbelt after a few false starts, his fare waved a hand forwards and drunkenly sat back, silently continuing his play act of sleep as he ran down a list of objectives in his head.

"Here you go mate". Seraph had seen the building he'd requisitioned as his base loom up in the distance as the taxi approached. As his ride pulled to a halt, the vampire bat skilfully mimicked having just been drunkenly jerked awake by the driver's shout. Flopping to open the door, he carefully supported himself on the taxi's sleek black exterior to open Nack's door and drag the weasel outside. Handing the cabbie enough to cover the bill and a hefty tip, he waited until the taxi was in the distance before dropping the act; seizing Nack over his shoulder, the assassin leapt agilely towards his base. The sedative he'd used had been powerful but would wear off soon; he had determined the logical course of action was to listen for any plans from his remaining target and wait until the weasel awoke before beginning the surgery, if it could be called that. The smell of the alcohol he'd poured on himself and Nack would also have to be removed; it could warn future targets if he got too close to them.

As it had been nearly three days since their last proper meal, rather than eating in fits and starts, every one of them made the most of it. All the berries, fruits and remaining supplies brought in by Sonic and co. were devoured mercilessly in a silent feast that lasted at least half an hour. Finally, when cramping stomachs could hold no more, Amy rolled onto her back and groaned,

"Now that was worth the wait".

"What do you mean wait?" Sonic was mildly indignant at this statement, "all you two did was wash while we went and collected everything for you. We climbed trees, risked thorn bushes and even had to restrain Knuckles". Everyone's heads snapped round at that comment, especially Knuckles; he noticed the gleam in Sonic's eye and took a fortifying breath – this was probably going to be embarrassing. Of course, Rouge had to be the one to ask, keeping half her attention on Knuckles as she smirked.

"Restraining the Knucklehead? Tell me more".

"Oh yeah; he heard the two minute warning at that was it – he was champing at the bit to get here". The echidna shot to his feet; Sonic had often teased him about Rouge just as he teased Sonic about Amy but this was going too far.

"You're toast hedgehog!" Knuckles was about to introduce Sonic to Mr. Fist and his close friend Madam Blackeye when Shadow and Amy leapt up to restrain him as Tails stopped chuckling and acted as the voice of serenity,

"Knuckles, stop it; Sonic's only joking", the fox shook his head at his immature elder brother, "a typically crass and childish joke, but a joke nonetheless".

"Yeah Knucks", Shadow grunted as he grappled one of the echidna's arms, "be grateful, I have to live with this". Knuckles eventually calmed down and Amy turned to Sonic and admonished the blue hedgehog.

"Apologise for that comment Sonic".

"Aw why do I have to; we needed a joke and besides it was true" the blue blur chuckled as Knuckles made a second attempt to break free. That was enough for Amy; Sonic had stepped over the line and it was time to get out the big guns to reinforce the boundaries.

"Do it with good grace or", she leaned in close and grinned like a gremlin, "I'll tell him what the M means".

Sonic went pale, all thoughts of joshing around flown straight out of his head as the impact of that threat struck him harder than any punch Knuckles could have thrown.

"You, you wouldn't…?"

"Try me".

"Okay, okay. Knuckles, I apologise wholeheartedly and unreservedly for any insult I just spoke".

"Err, all right, apology accepted", the echidna was curious at this new power Amy was exhibiting and tried to find out more about it, "the M?"

"Sonic M Hedgehog", Tails answered before shrugging, "Sonic's got a weird middle name and he won't tell it to anyone. Don't know why, it's not like it could be worse than Miles".

"Trust me it can. I'll die before I tell anyone what the M stands for". Sonic was as serious as Sonic could get as he said that.

"So how does Amy know it?" Rouge was curious to know this as it appeared Amy had uncovered something Sonic had kept hidden from even his closest friends. The pink hedgehog struck her victory pose as she answered,

"I saw it in his passport, and don't look at me like that", she told the glowering Sonic, "I was only trying to find your birthday". Rouge chuckled,

"Well, it's not like that statement could have been true anyway". Shadow just knew he was going to regret this but,

"And why not?"

"Oh come on, this is Knuckles – one hint of flesh and he'd probably keel over. He's got morals too good to pry on unsuspecting ladies". Knuckles was unsure whether to take the comment as a hit at his solitary background or a compliment to his moral code. In a few minutes it was irrelevant anyway as Amy clapped her hands and shouted,

"Anyway, this name malarkey can stop right now; we've got to come up with a plan to try and get Rouge safe and hopefully rescue Nack into the bargain".

**Interesting ideas. Miles Prower again showing intelligence. Most impractical. Noise from holding area. Target conscious. Prepare implantation procedure.**

The light, the light was spinning into his wobbling eyes, he reluctantly forced them shut and tried to bring his arms up to cover his vulnerable optics. Stupid blanket, it had snared up his arms something chronic. Kicking out, Nack realised that this blanket had done a professional job; he couldn't even kick it off his legs. In fact, despite the discomfort it caused, he forced his eyes open again and tried to focus on his arms. As his sight cleared and some logic slowly percolated into his mind, he was jolted fully awake by the image that he was confronted with. It wasn't a blanket that was covering him; he was basically in leg irons; it was impossible to move his wrists or ankles apart and moving his legs forced himself to bring his arms down. As the looked around, he swiftly realised this wasn't the log cabin he'd been in last; this place was old and seemed to be mostly made of metal, old, rusting metal at that.

What was going on – the weasel fought down the initial stab of panic that threatened to destroy his ability to think clearly and remembered. The last thing he could clearly remember was that mark, he'd ran away as he'd panicked at the sight of it, then, oh no. Nack grimaced, stomach slowly filling with cold swirling water as he remembered that he'd told them everything, including the fact that for seven years he'd considered himself a murderer. It was after that things went hazy; he remembered looking up and seeing something falling, but there was nothing past that. He was tempted to pass it off as a drunken dream, certainly he smelt alcohol on his clothing and fur, but tempting as it sounded was forced to discount that theory; he didn't drink much as a rule and Knuckles hadn't had much of a mini bar from what he could tell. Nack's ears caught the sound of footsteps approaching and he shuffled upwards, sitting up as much as was possible for someone restrained as he was. His eyes widened as he saw the devil of his past approaching.

It wasn't a surprise; he was smart enough to figure out the most likely explanation for the change of scenery had been abduction, but what did shock him was the lack of fear he felt. It was like he'd gone too far to be afraid and was able to casually observe as Seraph approached his basically helpless form. He saw the strange device held in the black angel's left hand, smiled resignedly and composed himself to deal with a lot of pain.

"Torture, Seraph?" Nack even managed a snort of laughter, "doesn't seem like your thing – you seemed like the type to kill outright; you've had practice at that remember". The former guild member and team mate slowed his approach as he heard these words and Nack gave a gallows smile.

"What's up, don't talk any more? No, not like you'd have much interesting to say on topics that didn't involve murder". Seraph remained silent and Nack, realising he had precious little time left before it started, asked a question that had plagued him since the night he'd terminated their friendship, so to speak.

"Do I get a last request?" The weasel continued before his captor could even consider answering, "How'd ya do it Seraph? That was a killing shot, how'd you manage to survive it and then escape?" The question didn't even appear to slow him down and Nack bowed his head slightly as Seraph came within reach, muttering the name of his sister and hoping that, once he was done with him, Seraph would leave the others alone. There was a sudden jerk on the chain connecting his wrists and ankles and Nack yelped as he was brought forwards. He looked up and saw straight into Seraph's ever passive camouflage.

"I didn't".

There was an almost inaudible 'phush' and the taste of camphor on his tongue as Nack tried to register his disbelief of this fact. The aerosolised sedatives took almost immediate effects and the last thing Nack remembered was the feeling of his hat being taken off.

**Implantation successful; programming accepted with no flaw. Decision being made by target.**

"So here's what we think so far", Sonic was summarising, "we can't let Rouge stay here because Seraph knows about her location. Therefore, she's got to move off".

"Yep; we've seen what Seraph can do even against a group of us; I've got a better chance of hiding than we have of outfighting or outthinking him".

"Fair enough", Tails nodded at the bat's reasoning, "but I don't think it's safe to go alone".

"Yeah, if he found you alone, chances are you couldn't fight him off", Knuckles backed up the kit's concerns, "I don't think you should go back alone". Rouge raised an eyebrow; thinking as part of a team wasn't usually Knuckle's forte.

"Good idea Knuckles; you volunteering?" _Oh hell, that was dumb_; for a second she'd forgotten that the echidna's life revolved around the green rock at the centre of the island. _Wait, did I just call the Master Emerald a green rock!_

"It would be a little difficult to guard the Master from Station Square", the echidna gave an ironic smile, "I can glide but I can't fly". That wasn't too bad; she'd been expecting a more sarcastic comment than that.

"I know", Amy's exclamation caught them all a little unprepared, "take Sonic and Shadow; they've got an apartment in Station Square and you could stay there. Seraph shouldn't attack Knuckles, Tails and me, because we're all innocent".

"Nice plan, I like it". Rouge gave the pink hedgehog an appreciative smile as she examined the plan from all the angles she could think of and found it proof against all of them. Checking her two future roomies, she was pleasantly surprised to not hear a single murmur of protest. Instead, Shadow raised an interesting point,

"Should we get the police involved?" All eyes turned to Rouge; though all five believed and in some cases voiced, the belief that this was an excellent idea, all respected that as this was ultimately her problem, it was ultimately her choice. The bat closed her eyes as several factors collided violently; Nack had wanted it to remain a guild matter, but look where that had got him – captured, possibly hurt or even… That was the thought that tipped the scales as she smiled grimly.

"Yeah, we'll go to them tomorrow, first thing".

"Good idea; when are you thinking of leaving?"

"You that desperate to get rid of me Knucklehead?" Rouge was only half-serious; she realised and accepted that she was possibly the single most determined threat Knuckles had encountered to the safety of his beloved gem – nearly a week of her must have been driving him up the walls and along the ceiling. For his part, the echidna gave a tight smile,

"No, I'm just thinking that you're probably all still tired, but at the same time the longer we leave it, the more time Seraph has to recover. It's going to be a balancing act, and a fine one at that".

"He's right as well". Shadow emphasised the point by failing to hold back a monumental yawn as everyone realised that the echidna's words did indeed ring true. After considering for a few minutes Tails gave a nod.

"I think you should go at dusk; that'll give you enough time to rest and hopefully the darkness'll give you a bit of concealment. Are you sure the 'copter will fit three?"

"It'll be a bit of a squeeze but yes, we could all fit", Rouge blessed Sonic and Shadow with a devilish smile, "better figure out who's sitting on who's lap boys".

"No way!"

"It's either that or the gear stick". Both hedgehogs simmered away nicely as the rest stifled giggles and Rouge spoke again,

"Oh, and get a bath the pair of you; I have to fly with you I don't need to smell you as well". Knuckles heeded a sudden urge and shifted his place silently and almost unnoticeably. Sonic looked at the waterfall uncomfortably; despite several lessons and some improvement, his swimming skills were less adept than he would have liked and that water looked rather chilly.

"Er, sure, I'll catch forty winks firsaye!" Something seized the hedgehog by the scruff of his neck and at the base of his tail, stopping him from moving. Catching a glance as he fought for his freedom, Sonic realised his captor was none other than Knuckles. A lead weight settled in his stomach and he redoubled his efforts as the echidna spoke,

"Actually Sonic, I think you'll be catching a bath first". As he was stronger than the hedgehog, Knuckles was able to rush him to the lake edge and give a great heave, the so-called hero's panicked shout warming the cockles of the echidna's heart as Sonic landed with a great spladoom. The shout was followed by a second shriek.

"Ahh, the water's freezing!"

"Don't embarrass me on my island Sonic, it'll only end in tears".

"Knuckles watch out". The echidna threw himself to the side, grateful to Rouge's warning as something pink flashed through the spot he'd recently vacated. Amy swung again as Knuckles decided discretion was the much better part of valour, especially when dirty great hammers and his skull were involved.

"How dare you pick on my sweet Sonikku!" Knuckles disappeared, shouting something about the Master Emerald as Shadow lowered himself into the water, the small flames from his jet shoes heating the water. He noticed the shivering Sonic and smiled,

"Ah, how thoughtful, you're warming the water up for me; another few minutes with those cheeks and we'll be toasty". The black hedgehog's chuckles were short-lived as the enraged Sonic dunked him until he pleaded for mercy.

Once he was perfectly sure Amy had been left a long way behind, Knuckles slowed down and headed for the Master Emerald shrine. He needed to check up on it though he was certain Seraph hadn't touched it; he'd have sensed it if something as foul as the assassin had set foot in the Hidden Palace. He had decided when Rouge had decided that flight was the best option that, even if he couldn't go with her, he could still help indirectly. He just hoped it wouldn't come to a fight, and if it did, his offer would help tip the balance in his friend's favour.

**The targets are approaching position by air. Rest and intercept. If executed correctly, only the final target will remain before morning dawns.**


	14. Unwitting Pawns

Chapter 12 – Unwitting Pawns.

After taking his somewhat unscheduled dip, Sonic had quickly realised that he was absolutely exhausted and, having discovered a suitable patch of grass, had simply dropped right off into slumber. He slept completely soundlessly for nowhere near long enough, in his opinion, when someone shook him back to wakefulness.

"Whozzat?" the hedgehog slurred, reluctantly peeling open a single eye. It was getting relatively dark and it took him a few minutes to recognise the face in front of him.

"Knuckles", the hedgehog groaned and made to roll over, "go away, I need a few more hours".

"No you don't", the echidna gripped the hedgehog's shoulder and shook, adding, "maybe a little cold water on your face would…" Gritting his teeth, the hedgehog pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes.

"All right, all right, I'm up already". The echidna nodded, keeping his voice low to avoid waking the others, who were all still sleeping soundly.

"Good, it's nearly time you were leaving. Listen Sonic I want you to understand this; nothing about this is a joke. You have to take this seriously or someone could get badly hurt". In an amazing moment of insight, Sonic actually managed a rare feat; he managed to see the hidden meaning of a sentence. The fact it was this sentence just made it even more delicious and he grinned.

"Or some bat", he sniggered at the look of momentary panic on Knuckles' face and decided to rub it in, just a little, "aww, so cute; so when you gonna pop the question Knucks man?" Quick as lightning, Sonic pinched and wiggled the echidna's now brilliantly red left cheek, beaming like a fool all the while. For his part, Knuckles just closed his eyes and slowly counted to five, trying desperately to keep his cool.

"I'll pop the question when you do, Sonikku", that calmed the hedgehog down and put Knuckles back on level pegging, "but listen; look after her alright – I've seen and felt what that freak can do, and, well". Seeing the look in his red friend's eye, Sonic became more serious and put a hand on his shoulder.

"If he wants her, he goes through me first". The hedgehog's tone was deadly serious and sincere, offering Knuckles the reassurance he wanted. He put one of his paws over the hand on his shoulder and squeezed; Sonic was a hot head and too flash for his own good, but at heart he would rather have undergone a full body wax than let any of his friends down. Now it was time for him to reciprocate the favour.

"Good", he brought forwards what was concealed in his other fist, "take this to help out". Sonic's eyes widened, reflecting the light from the glowing red jewel Knuckles had presented him with.

"Where'd you get the red emerald man?" The hedgehog was well beyond shocked as he gingerly took the red Chaos emerald from the guardian's hand, the warmth from the gem banishing the lingering aspects of his tiredness. Knuckles smiled,

"Ask no questions…"

"…receive no lies", Sonic finished for him, "you are way too sneaky; maybe you aught to be a spy as well; you'd be able to spend more time with Rouge that way. Think about that – can I be best man?" The hedgehog quickly dodged an irate swing, the echidna snarling and going, if possible, even redder.

"The only reason I'm leaving you alive is because I need you to look after Rouge", the guardian turned towards Shadow, "now get Rouge up and I'll deal with Shadow; you need to get to the helicopter and off this island".

In Station Square, Seraph had finished storing away the last of his equipment; he would have to leave most of it behind but that was irrelevant – all that mattered was settling his grudge. Seven years he had waited for this and in a few short days, barring catastrophes, he would visit the architect of his fate with bloody vengeance. Securing the last instrument of his plan, the dark angel took a final look around and gave a single, calculated nod; in the time available, it was the most efficient job possible. Stretching his wings, Seraph took to the air in a preconceived flight plan that gave maximum coverage of the city with minimum energy expenditure. The most recent information spoke of potential Chaos energy being utilised by one protector of the target – if this was so, one of his hypothesises would soon meet its first field test. If he had had the emotion to do so, Seraph would have given a bitter smile – he had been destroyed by his target's technology and manipulation; by the same technology and manipulation, he would have revenge.

The helicopter was parked right where Rouge had left it and was, as far as any could make out, completely untouched by sabotage. The spy hadn't lied, this was a two-seater helicopter, so trying to fit both her, Sonic and Shadow in was a real squeeze, though the two hedgehogs had just enough space to avoid sitting on each other. As all three alighted their ride, there were last minute wishes of good luck from Tails and Amy to their hedgehog friends. Rouge shook her head and made to swing her leg in to the cockpit when a quiet voice stopped her.

"Good luck". Somehow, she was both unsurprised and relieved to see Knuckles stood behind her, though his expression bordered on unreadable. The bat smiled and winked at him, catching herself in time to avoid a caustic rejoinder; the last one had got her nowhere.

"Thanks Knucks, for everything", stepping forwards, she put her hand on his shoulder, looking deep into his lilac eyes, "when this all blows over, I'll be back". The guardian echoed her smile, mischief in his eyes as he replied,

"I'll still be here, but you're still not getting it". It was her turn to slap down a comeback.

"I always get what I want".

"You can try batgirl".

"I will Knucklehead". The echidna pushed her back gently, pointing at the waiting chopper.

"Go on – we'll keep in touch by Tail's radios; they're strong enough to transmit between here and Sonic's place. If there's any trouble, we'll contact you or vice versa".

"Pray we don't have to use them" Rouge said seriously, removing her hand and heading back towards her transport. Hoisting herself into the cockpit and buckling in, she checked her bodyguards were buckled in as well as they could and then slid the roof shut. Leaning forwards, she caught sight of Knuckles watching on and, while powering the rotors up, blew him a sneaky kiss. _Gotcha_ – she saw his eyes roll but, damn his red fur, couldn't tell if she'd made him blush or not. Pulling back on the throttle, she skilfully guided the helicopter up, forcing those still on the ground the shield their eyes against the debris stirred from take off. In the darkening gloom, the helicopter steadied itself and then steered, slowly but surely, towards Station Square.

Tails watched as the silhouette of the flying vehicle was eventually lost to flight and then smiled inside; he'd seen that kiss and was about to make Knuckle's life a living misery. Sidling up to the echidna, the fox remarked casually,

"I saw that".

"Saw what?"

"You know what". Tails mimicked the kiss Rouge had blown and the look of horror that crossed Knuckle's face as he lost the innocent act was shatteringly funny, "ohhh, Knucks is in love"; Tails was gone now; absolutely loving this chance to act as the child he truly was despite his normally serious exterior. Unfortunately, he failed to see the change in the echidna's face as he pranced around singing in a really annoying voice,

"Rouge and Knuckles, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First come loves, then comes marriage, then comes Rouge pushing a ba-erk!" A pair of strong hands landed on his shoulders, effectively grounding him and Tails was then treated to the benefit of hindsight; if he'd taken off before he'd started singing Knuckles wouldn't have been able to catch him. He felt himself hoisted up and over his friend's shoulder as Knuckles growled,

"You're getting a bit too hot to handle Miles Prower", the tone suddenly changed to one of dark, wicked humour, "but I know just the thing to cool you off".

"Amy, little help here?" Tails managed to squirm around so he could see the pink hedgehog bringing up the rear of the group; at least he could see her upside down, holding the precious radio. At first he though she would be his saviour until he remembered to turn her expression upside down to compensate for his perpendicular viewpoint.

"No way Tails; you deserve this for trying to show Knuckles up. Besides", the expression showed a little cruelty now, "I don't see a girl on your arm". Tails felt, rather than heard, Knuckles chuckle and remark,

"She got you there kid, unless you count Cream of course. I remember you two…"

"Nothing's going on!" Tails shouted, making another concerted effort to wriggle free from Knuckles' crushing grip.

"Tails and Cream, sitting in a tree…" Tails clamped his hands over his ears as the echidna turned his rhyme against him.

"AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHH!"

**They are coming.**

The flight by helicopter was much shorter than the journey by wing, a fact Sonic and Shadow were profoundly grateful for. As Rouge touched the helicopter back down on the landing pad she'd taken off from nearly five days ago, there was a desperate scramble to get the top of the cockpit unlatched. As soon as it was free, twin balls of black and blue shot to the floor, sharing moans of relief as the two hedgehogs stretched of every muscle.

"Ahhhoowww", Sonic genteelly extended a single leg, expression somewhere between unbearable pain and excessive pleasure, "I didn't know it was possible to cramp up every muscle in your legs".

"And butt", Shadow chipped in, pushing both hands against the base of his spine, forcing out a few soft popping noises, "man, I'm glad to be out of there".

"Oh, stop moaning you two", Rouge shook her ears free of the pilot's helmet and stood up straight, "now where's this place of yours from here?"

"Hang on and we'll have you there in a Sonic second" the blue hedgehog stated, offering his hand and gearing up his cramped legs. Rouge nearly accepted the offer when Shadow's voice cut in,

"I'm not sure that's a good idea".

"Why's that Shads?"

"He could hear us directly, or overhear that we're back", the black hedgehog explained, the notion having only just come into his head, "as far as he knows we're still on Angel Island". Both Sonic and Rouge looked at the dark hedgehog and came to the same conclusion at the same time; subtly was key.

"Okay, we go quick and quiet", Rouge spoke hurriedly as her sharp eyes located the exit from the roof, "take us to your place by the back streets; less chance of us being seen there. You know the way?" Sonic closed his eyes for a second, picturing a map of the city in his head before licking his lips,

"Yeah, yes I think I know the way". Rouge smiled as she carefully opened the roof door and politely held it for the hedgehogs.

"Right then, let's get going". Shadow led them onto the stairs, keeping an eye out for any people on the way down.

Unknown to all three, the shadow that had followed their descent had taken a more direct route to the floor. Blending into the darkness effortlessly, Seraph carefully hovered a dozen feet in the air, waiting for his target to show herself.

Tails would have spoken curses enough to turn the air blue. He would have thrown around language so filthy it would have desecrated the pure water he currently occupied. Unfortunately, with his head submerged without his consent, the most he could muster was a stream of bubbles, violently gurgling bubbles it was true but bubbles nonetheless. The hand at the back of his neck hauled him upright and he spluttered and shook the water out of his ears as Knuckles grinned.

"Something to say, Mr Prower?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry", Tails waited until Knuckles had released him and turned away before pushing off the bed of the waterfall, tackling his friend from behind and yelling, "vengeance!" Caught by surprise, Knuckles lost his balance and fell face-first into the waterfall pool, Tails trying to dunk him in revenge for the echidna's throwing him into the water as soon as they'd arrived. Amy watched the pair of them from a safe distance; she'd already had one bath today and the pair of them play-fighting made it look like someone was sinking a battleship. She held the radio Tails had entrusted to her firmly in her right hand and, after considering for a few seconds, turned the dial to transmit. After a crackle of static, she whispered,

"Hello, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear Amy – thanks Rouge", Shadow mentioned as she politely held the door of the building they'd exited out of open for him, "we're heading to our place quietly – contact us if you need to, right?" The radio cracked for a second before a tiny voice spoke out the end of it,

"Okay, and get in touch if you need us. Amy out". It went dead as Sonic glanced over,

"Anything?" Shadow quickly put the blue hedgehog's mind at ease.

"Nah, Amy just wanted to check the radios were working all right". Shadow handed the radio to Rouge, who clipped it onto her jumpsuit before signalling for Sonic to lead the way; after taking a second to get his bearings, the cobalt hedgehog carefully led his companions down a side street, taking care to try and avoid any remaining pedestrians. As the three moved off none were aware that high above them, gecko-skinned boots and gloves allowing him to cling like a spider to the sides of buildings, their pursuer never let his eyes leave them as he weighed his options in the light of all the evidence he had.

Knuckles relaxed as the cold stone at the base of the waterfall rubbed against the fur of his back. Above him, Tails was hovering upwards, trying to gain altitude for a spectacular dive. Knuckles kept his eyes trained on the fox's form as his tails suddenly stopped rotating and he began to fall, streamlining his body into the dive position as he suddenly hit, barely a ripple marking his point of impact as the echidna mentally gave him an eight and a half out of ten. It struck him as ironic that, despite his almost completely outdoor life, Tails could still dive much more flamboyantly than he could; all his dives, and swimming stokes for that matter, were effective, workmanlike performances that got the job done but had little in the way of style or panache. As Tails surfaced he gave a small round of applause.

"Nice one foxboy; take an eight point five".

"No way, that was a nine if ever there was one".

"Take it or leave it".

"Okay, eight and a half it is then", the fox paddled to the bank to try and get up enough steam for another controlled plummet and Knuckles carefully began to arrange his dreadlocks; though useful in their ability to let him glide, the hair style took a lot of maintenance. The number of twigs and thorns that continually caught in his hair could have thatched his cabin roof if he'd collected them. As he ran his hands carefully through his crimson locks he felt another collection of leaves slide free.

Seraph stiffened; those thuds he was hearing through his receiving bead weren't natural. There was a real risk of discovery; he'd seen that the two groups could communicate effectively – logically he had to strike before a warning could be given to avoid discovery. Speeding up his wall crawling, the almost invisible figure moved swiftly; he wanted to be just behind but above the group in front of him as they followed the blue hedgehog Sonic down another side street.

_Ahh, got you all_; Knuckles sighed as his hands slid free of the dreadlock, pulling out a couple of his hairs as well as all the rubbish that had accumulated within the hair structure. He winced slightly; some of those thorns had been really deep and had taken time to extract properly. Glancing at the little oddments that had caused him such discomfort he was a little disconcerted to see a tiny sliver of metal within the usual assortment of leaves and red hair. He hid a tiny smile; Tails hadn't known about Seraph's loopy laws so wouldn't have known not to bug the echidna – he was amazed the fox had managed to get the tracker there in the first place. He whistled as the fox, having just completed a nine and a quarter dive, started heading towards the waterfall bank.

"Hey Tails, why'd you bug us all? How many of those have you got stashed away?" The fox paused at the echidna's words and turned towards him, expression mildly confused.

"I didn't put tracers on anyone but Nack and Rouge". The echidna smiled a bit; in the darkness he couldn't see the seriousness on Tails' face and thought the kit was pulling his leg.

"Oh really, that's not what my hand says to me". The fox was filled with sudden suspicion and altered his course towards where Knuckles was relaxing, shouting as he swam.

"Knucks I'm serious; I only did those two". At his tone, the echidna promptly stopped his thoughts of joking and thought seriously. _Tails sounds concerned; if he really means it, what does that mean? If Tails didn't put this here, then…_

The realisation of what he held in his hand stabbed Knuckles like an icicle dagger; he'd been tracked not by his friend, but by his enemy! As his mind unconsciously joined the dots between Seraph not finishing him in the fight they'd had, especially that strike to the head, and his apparent knowledge of every plan they'd come up with since then, his fist smashed the bug to ruin against the unyielding stone. The guardian was all at once ashamed, afraid, furious and embarrassed by the simple fact that Seraph had used him to gather the information he'd needed to plan his devastating raids. The angel of hell had enough to…Knuckles gasped as he made a deadly, terrifying link. He had been present at all the meetings, he had been privy to all the plans and what he knew, Seraph knew.

Through that link, Seraph now knew about the plan to split up and where Rouge had gone. He had put in danger that which he had wanted to protect.

There was a mighty roar and whoosh of spray as Knuckles threw himself forwards into the water, striking out for land as his voice preceded him a desperate shout.

"Amy", he swallowed bitter water as he tried to convey the urgency that was needed, "Amy, tell the others to run; he knows, _Seraph knows_!"

As soon as the static had come through on his bead, Seraph had made ready; hoisting himself into the necessary position, he carefully began to concentrate, focussing his natural gift to see when blinded into a dangerous weapon. There was a rapid series of soft clicking noises as he held his power in check; waiting, like the patient predator he truly was, for the perfect second to strike.

Amy had heard the echidnas' dire prophesy but it somehow failed to sink in immediately. Precious seconds were lost before Tails, equally desperate, shouted at her,

"He bugged Knuckles; he'll have heard everything". Eyes wide, Amy grabbed the radio, flipped the dial round to transmit and screamed the warning down the appliance.

"Guys run, he bugged Knuckles, he…" she nearly fainted as all that greeted her words was silence, then a sudden bout of agonised cries; with dread lodged deep in her heart, she realised her warning had come too late and there was nothing she could do about it.

The crackling of the radio, drawing in all his victim's attentions, had been the split second advantage he'd needed. The ultrasound that allowed his species to echolocate was compressed and unleashed as a steady, silent beam that wrecked havoc on the ears of all in its path. In the seven years since it had first been sounded, the Silent Scream had worked well to disorientate and weaken his enemies. Having just caught the first few words of Amy's call, Sonic, Shadow and Rouge were unprepared as the soundless noise continued, causing them all to voice their pain and clamp their hands over their ears. Shadow, marginally closer to the source of the attack, was overwhelmed by the white noise tearing at his ears and collapsed onto his knees, nearly sick as Seraph finished his attack. Noting the black hedgehog was down, the assassin progressed to phase two of his plan; cut off any escape routes; Sonic could carry Rouge or Shadow but there was no way he'd be able to carry them both. Shadow looked up with tear filled eyes as something landed in front of him; he never clearly saw as Seraph, springing from his position some ten feet off the floor, swung his leg round and never felt the blow that laid him out cold. Noticing that the other two were throwing off their disorientation, Seraph leapt away from the unconscious ultimate life-form and took up a fighting stance.

"Sonic", Amy was almost in tears from fear of her friend's plights, "Shadow, Rouge, please come in". She cursed; a real rarity for her and glanced around with frightened eyes. Tails and Knuckles were approaching, horror on their faces as the tinny sounds from the radio had penetrated the night air to reach them. Tails veered off, shouting,

"Tornado, now!" and Amy felt herself scooped up by Knuckles, the echidna not even slowing down as he took a great leap and forced himself skywards, not even noticing as the chill of the air caught his soaked fur. Amy just looked up to see a few tears leak out of the echidna's eyes before her own fears forced her to shed her own droplets of dew. As she was carried by the echidna guardian, the pink hedgehog preyed with all her heart that those she cared for would remain safe in this battle.

Sonic reeled from the pain and sheer surprise of the attack; he'd been hit by sound-based weaponry before in his battles with Eggman and he would have bet money that none of the mad doctor's inventions had ever worked that well. Clearing his eyes, he staggered drunkenly for a split second before shaking his head, flicking his gaze to the left where he could see Rouge was also recovering. By some divine guidance, the hedgehog just knew who he'd see when he turned to look forwards; he snarled deeply as Seraph stood barring his way towards safety.

"Oh, Shadow". The words from Rouge took his glance away for a Sonic split second; his brain told him all he needed to know. The black hedgehog he had come to respect and even like was down, out cold from the looks of things with Rouge watching over the fallen body. This was too much; this black clad lunatic had pushed the hedgehog's fraying temper just too far and there was only going to be one outcome. Swiftly palming his red emerald, the hedgehog pointed at Seraph and said in a murderous voice,

"You, are going, to die". Seraph leant forwards slightly and his voice was like a razor being drawn across the ears.

"I am already dead".

"Prepare yourself for hell then", Rouge's calm voice belied the naked fury in her eyes as she took up her comfortable fighting stance, "this ends now". Sonic saw Seraph's attention shift and played his ace; drawing the fiery energy from his emerald, the hedgehog extended an arm and shouted,

"Chaos Spear!"

A bolt of fiery red energy streamed forwards, lancing forwards unerringly towards its target. Sonic sneered; Seraph either didn't know what he'd just summoned or couldn't dodge in time – either way, this was going to hurt the dark angel.

**Avoidance impossible. Novel technology undergoing first field test.**

The suit of leather that Seraph appeared to wear gleamed dully as the oncoming lance of blood red power streaked towards him. It was not originally created by the assassin himself, but the technology had been forgotten by its designer and rediscovered, modified and upgraded by Seraph. He had personally never needed to rely on the protection it had offered before but as he had underestimated the hedgehog's speed, he seemed to have little choice but to test if his scientific principles had been proven. Either way he had twisted as much as was possible to lessen the intended impact. As the bolt loomed closer, Seraph was able to make a conclusion.

Sonic watched impassively as his enemy made a last-ditch effort to twist out of the way; that wouldn't be enough, prepare to feel pain sucker. He'd been hit with a Chaos Spear once before, when Shadow was still in his blow-up-the-world phase and the sheer power behind it had nearly made him black out through pain. As impact became imminent, Sonic, with his enhanced sight for high speed collisions, saw the spear he had launched slow and, what was this; it was bending, bending away from the targeted angel. The hedgehog's knees grew weak as the red energy blast refracted away from its target, deflected away and to the right of Seraph and streaking away. He barely noticed as the energy was dissipated harmlessly by the brick work of a nearby building behind the assassin; all he saw was his foe standing untouched by one of the most dangerous weapons he knew of. He nearly dropped his own, seemingly useless Chaos emerald as Seraph pointed at him. _No, no way – he's immune to Chaos energy!_

**Hypothesis correct. Chaos energy can not affect other chaos emeralds. Advantage of Chaos emerald neutralised. Warn protector. Prepare for hostilities.**

Rouge had watched, almost as disbelieving as Sonic as the Chaos Spear had been somehow diverted from its intended target. This was serious; it would be down to tooth and nail fighting to escape now. She prepared herself for the fight of her life as Seraph's arm moved. It pointed at Sonic, then moved to the side, then repeated the gesture again. She heard a grim laugh from the hedgehog, unknowing as he repeated the promise he had made to Knuckles.

"You want her, you go through me first". As the leather face nodded, the spy was under no illusion that Seraph was going to be as good as his word. She moved up close to the hedgehog, sneering at Seraph as, realising his offer was rejected, he swiftly moved into a stance of aggression.

Both were so tense, so waiting for Seraph to run straight towards them, that his move caught them both flat-footed. The vampire bat did, indeed, charge, but he ran at the wall to the side of his target. Rouge span and ducked as Seraph kicked off the wall and span towards her in midair, his feet flashing forwards as he propelled himself into the attack. Luckily she'd dropped low enough so he passed harmlessly over her head, landing on his feet and spinning to face her.

"Bad move". She heard Sonic's shout as Seraph stumbled forwards; he'd landed between the pair and Sonic had taken the opportunity for a shot at his back before jumping back, allowing Rouge to go full tilt without risk of hitting him. As the dark angel looked for his footing, Rouge pressed the hedgehog's advantage, her legs becoming little more than blurs as Seraph defended himself, taking the majority of the punishment on his arms. The spy creased her face in concentration; this could be her best chance to hurt her harasser, so she gave it her all; she felt her reward as one of her kicks broke through, smashing into the ribs of her opponent, though he didn't seem to notice particularly. Rouge span, focussing all her strength and speed into the roundhouse kick she unleashed, her leg straight as an arrow and irresistible as a demolition ball as she let fly for the head of her enemy. Seraph ducked, the kick arcing scant centimetres from his mask before leaping back up, powering up from his crouch with an arm extended. The limb struck Rouge across the collarbone, taking her nearly to the floor as Seraph rolled away; he'd been prevented from taking advantage by Sonic's continuing presence. Both bats came to their feet as the positions were reversed – Sonic now had a clear run for home but daren't take it. Shadow was still cold and there was no way he was leaving the black hedgehog in the hands of this madmobian. Sonic grinned recklessly despite the circumstances, this was where he belonged and excelled – in the heat of battle, with life and death balanced on a knife edge. As Rouge caught her breath, the hedgehog advanced.

His speed was essential; the dark angel was good, but there was no way he could hit something as fast as the hedgehog. Sonic was everywhere all at once, landing some minor grazes but Seraph could avoid most of his homing attacks by rolling and flipping to the side. Gathering himself, Sonic quickly reversed direction and threw himself forwards again, rolling into a ball as the homing attack focused on Seraph. This time, however, the angel was prepared. He had watched the pattern of attack and realised that while airborne Sonic could neither stop nor change direction; instead of dodging to the side, this time Seraph leapt backwards, flashing out his wings in time to stop his backwards motion at the point where Sonic landed. As the hedgehog careened forwards, unable to stop his attack, Seraph was there to meet him; swinging his entire bodyweight around the pivot of his standing leg and catching the blue ball directly with the heel of his foot.

_I'll feel that tomorrow_; though he'd missed most of the vital points, the sheer force of Seraph's kick had simply knocked the balled up hedgehog backwards, the pain in his back flaring as he landed and rolled back to his feet. Sonic came to his feet just in time to see Seraph take the full force of a Black Wave in the flank; no dodging the technique Rouge had powered up whilst Sonic had occupied the black bat's attention. Rouge snarled as Seraph staggered from the force of the hit and Sonic realised that he'd probably not get a better shot than this; Seraph was being forced towards a corner and looked like one more decent hit would put him down. Revving up, Sonic put pedal to the metal and ran full tilt, preparing to connect with his homing attack.

**Efficiency compromised but effective. Hedgehog utilising standard attack. Dodging impractical. Lever off the walls.**

Rouge watched, a little drained by the power she'd just expended but triumphant as she saw her handiwork. Seraph looked much the worse for wear and was backed into a corner; she was going to follow up herself but as she heard Sonic move, she realised his attack had a better chance of success in these conditions. The hedgehog himself had a change of plan from his standard homing attack; rather than staying as a ball, Sonic straightened at the last minute, leading the way with his feet in a high speed drop-kick. There was nowhere to run for his target.

As he had predicted; the hedgehog was attempting another homing attack. Seraph played the wounded duckling role with remarkable aplomb for someone with the emotion of a beverage dispenser. At the last possible moment, he used his gambit; jumping up, he flipped his feet up from the knees, hitting the wall behind him. The leverage of his boots was all he needed to jump again, this time pushing off from the wall itself and throwing himself up and over the oncoming hedgehog. Looking down, he realised that Sonic wasn't in his usual ball form; he was vulnerable and that was all the opportunity a fighter like Seraph needed to take advantage. Whipping one hand down, the vampire bat unhooked a tiny spray off his belt while his second hand punched, connecting solidly with Sonic's exposed chest. The impact didn't do much damage but had the desired effect of pushing Sonic off his intended trajectory.

_Whoa – is that all you can say…oof!_ Of all possible outcomes to this attack, this had been one Sonic hadn't anticipated – no Ma, expecting a cornered Mobian to jump out of the corner over you and hit you as he flew overhead was definitely not a common tick in the option boxes. Unsettled by the punch and having no time to recover, Sonic landed heavily but quickly recovered, rolling and pushing himself onto all fours. Glancing up, there was something in front of him, something that released a mini fog in front of his face with a phut. Immediately, his eyes began to sting abominably and he screwed them shut, clutching his face as the burning intensified, spreading to his nose and mouth as he realised what had happened to him.

Rouge had hurled herself at Seraph as soon as she'd seen what he'd done. For a split second she'd been as impressed as Sonic at the dark figure's escape but when the spray had come out the spy had known what that had meant. She cursed as she heard Sonic's cry of pain; the spray must have caught him right in the face; he wouldn't be fighting for a while if that was the case. So this was it; just you and me then Seraph; she couldn't use her Black Wave for a while and it was all down to her feet and hands. The black demon reholstered his pepper spray and, seeing her, prepared to fight again; this time he led and Rouge felt her guard under a relentless, unyielding attack. She was dodging, blocking and weaving with all her customary skill and more but there was just no option to counter attack, the blows were coming too thick and fast. She may never have touched her foe had it not been for outside interference.

He was expecting pain and boy, he wasn't disappointed. It felt like someone had taken a scouring pad to his eyeballs, but he forced his eyes open anyway. Through the distorted picture, he managed to ascertain that Rouge was hard pressed; he remembered what he'd told Knuckles and gritted his teeth, crawling forwards to get within striking distance. Throwing himself forwards, Sonic grabbed one of Seraph's feet and heaved, causing the assassin to crash to earth. There was a heavy impact on the side of his head and the last thought of the hedgehog was that there were fireflies orbiting his brain.

Sonic had given her the opportunity; she had to take it. She'd seen the kick to the side of the hedgehog's head and that would have put him under, it was all down to her. With a yell, Rouge released all her pent up hatred, rage and fear of the nameless demon that Seraph represented into a stomp, aimed at the back of his neck. It was a killing strike pure and simple; there was no coming back from a neck breaking stamp like that. It was misdirected, however, as Seraph used his most unlikely advantage, his unusual wing structure. Snapping them open, the wing closest to Rouge caught her standing leg and unbalanced her. The blow that should have killed landed squarely on Seraph's right shoulder blade, just above the wing joint, but that was of little comfort to Rouge as she fell and saw, out the corner of her eye, Seraph shift to catch her. An arm slid round her neck before she even landed and she took a deep breath; on the deck she was almost helpless, she had to break his grip and stand up. Lashing backwards with her elbows and knees, she pounded her tormentor's ribs and shins with several punishing attacks. The sleeper hold was tight however, cutting off the blood to her brain, causing her to start losing consciousness. It was hopeless, his grip was too tight and in this position she had no chance to get any leverage on her strikes. With her last thought, limbs too leaden to hit effectively, she hoped Knuckles and the others would be spared Seraph's wrath.

**Target down. Ensure coma during journey. Efficiency severely impaired; both opponents highly skilled and unusual foes. Check innocents – most injuries superficial. Transmit co-ordinates.**

Catching his breath and slowly releasing the limp form of Rouge, Seraph considered his next move. His primary activity was the same as it had been for Nack; with the aid of a small syringe, kept sheltered within a sterile stainless steel cylinder on the inside of his thigh guard, Rouge was rendered completely insensible for at least a couple of hours. The main problem was the innocents; the others must recover them or they would accuse him of unlawful kidnap. After considering his options, Seraph dragged his target into a concealed spot in the alleyway and then quickly reached a decision. The fox Miles Prower had access to an aircraft, so it was logical to postulate that the remaining three innocents would track by air. The easiest method of detection was to give a signal; glancing up, Seraph recalled a video he had studied once and a particular scene from it flagged up in his mind. Hoisting Sonic and Shadow over his shoulders, the angel took to the air.

The journey had been quiet; occasionally Amy had tried to raise a signal from the radio but all it gave was a burst of static and then simply a melancholy silence. The tension within the Tornado itself was all but striking sparks from the metal interior; Amy was worried for the safety of everyone, especially Sonic while Tails was concerned with pushing his vehicle to the limit to set a speed record from Angel Island to Station Square. However, it was Knuckles who was having the hardest time of all; he had been the one with a bug on him, he had inadvertently giving Seraph the information he'd needed therefore this mess was his fault. The echidna was furious with himself for not thinking that Seraph wouldn't try something like that, worried for all three he had delivered straight into hell and vowing vengeance on Seraph himself. It was a measure of how fraught the atmosphere was that the radio crackling into life nearly sent them all bouncing of the walls from nerves. Amy grabbed the handset and gabbled,

"Sonic, Shadow Rouge, are you all alright? What happened? Are you all safe?" There was several seconds of silence and for a second Knuckles wondered if the radio had malfunctioned before the pink hedgehog's tirade was answered. However, the voice was not the voice of any of their friends; it was as dry and dead as a snakeskin, devoid of warmth and any hint of emotion as it hissed a simple instruction.

"Seek my sign". The line went dead.

Seraph dropped the radio by his feet and quickly arranged the innocents in the recovery position. Having shed all his grenades, he was down to his standard utility belt that went with him on every mission he undertook. One of these articles was a small can of oil, WD40 to be precise. This was used to grease the joints of rusty doors and in a pinch slow down a pursuit. However, as far as the assassin could remember, he'd never used it like this before. With his target at his feet and the red Chaos emerald in his hand, the dark one simply stood atop the highest local building he could find, waiting for the tell-tale noise of the Tornado's engines.

As the line had ended, it had been all Knuckles could do not to go into a berserk fury and demolish at least half the plane he was flying in. His stupidity had led to this; by letting his guard down again he'd caused who knows what to happen to three of the people he cared deeply about; yes three of them he snarled at himself. He had resisted the destructive urge not only by his own willpower but also to help Amy. Exactly five seconds after the transmission the pink hedgehog had gone completely to pieces; she was now sobbing quietly into the mark on Knuckles' chest, the echidna's own tears dripping almost unnoticed into her spines as he gently held the child comfortingly. The echidna roused slightly as he heard his name over the intercom.

"Knuckles", Tails' voice was much quieter than normal and held the hint of a strangled sob, "I, I need you up front". After reassuring himself that Amy was now alright, the echidna carefully opened the door to the cockpit, noting the way Tails was now leant over the instruments of his flight desk. Hearing the echidna enter, the pilot looked round and Knuckles saw with a more than a hint of guilt that the fox's eyes were bloodshot and sore-looking. Motioning for him to sit down, Tails explained.

"I need you to keep a lookout – he said look for the sign".

"What should I look for?"

"How should I know", the retort was out before Tails could check it; he made to apologise but Knuckles waved it aside – the look on his friend's face was proof enough of admission of sin, "anything unusual – a flare, smoke, anything". Knuckles kept his eyes sweeping over the skyline of the darkened city.

There, an aircraft was closing in on his position. His night keen eyes quickly identified it as the vehicle the reinforcements had arrived in even at this distance; it was time to signal and then be gone. In one movement, Seraph had dropped the Chaos emerald and scooped Rouge up over his shoulder. As he expected, the heat of the red gem and the spark of its impact set off the flammable liquid he had sprayed around the building roof. As he assured himself the Tornado had altered course, he swept himself skywards and out of sight. The implant would be done tonight and the instructions were pre-programmed. In less than two hours, he'd be on the way to his final target's current location.

Something bright caught Knuckles' eye as he kept up his watch; whipping his head round for a better look, the echidna quickly realised that must have been the signal; the fire was blazing like a miniature beacon into the night sky.

"There" he shouted, indicating the fire for Tails. The fox nodded and yanked hard on the steering stick, lurching the plane round to the direction of the fire, Tails coaxed every ounce of performance from the machine; the sooner they got there, the sooner they discovered the damage that had been done. Knuckles had his face pressed to the glass and his eyes widened as he saw what the beacon was.

"Go lower" he ordered the pilot, not taking his eyes off the scene before him; the damned Seraph had been right; seek his sign. The beacon was a gigantic flaming angel on the top of a building. The reason he needed the fox to lower altitude, however, was the fact that his sharp eyes had seen something else. As they began to pass over the fiery mark, Knuckles felt his stomach lurch – at the centre of the beacon were two figures, neither of them moving as the flames ringed them. Just as he believed this was it, things could not possibly even consider getting any worse, there was a sudden rush of wind in the cockpit itself.

Knuckles had forgotten about the intercom system Tails had installed in his metamorphing mecha; he hadn't been the only one on lookout. In the back, Amy had seen the flaming mark as well and, as she saw a tiny, almost insignificant speck of blue at the heart of the fire, a cold dread had settled at the pit of her stomach. However, rather than being crushed by despair, the young hedgehog felt something else swamp over her; it was pure, undiluted logic – Sonic had risked his neck for her in the past, it was time to repay the favour. Her head was perfectly clear as she smashed the glass at the side of the aircraft door and pulled on the emergency release handle. The Tornado door handle opened and suddenly she was framed in the open door, the howling wind whipping her short spines as she realised she would have to act soon; the plane was actually passing over the building itself. The height of the Tornado wasn't even twenty feet above the building top; next to nothing in aeronautical terms but still a substantial risk for what Amy was planning. She kept her eyes trained on the spot; registering the fact that someone was saying her name; but she didn't respond as she made her choice and made perhaps the ultimate leap of faith.

Jumping nearly twenty feet onto solid concrete with no crash mats and even less of a margin for error, into a ring of fire whilst trying to avoid landing on the unmoving bodies of two of your closest friends, one of which you had a huge crush on, is generally not something attempted without lots of practice, substantial medical insurance and a crash team on stand-by. However, it is said fortune favours the brave and whatever else it may have been called Amy's action was certainly that. So it was that the pink hedgehog landed perfectly, registering only a slight shooting pain in both her legs and stumbling slightly onto Shadow's comatose form. Quickly recovering her balance, Amy looked around at the seemingly shrinking ring of fire and quickly pulled out her hammer. Concentrating furiously, she began to swing her cumbersome weapon around in slow circles that rapidly increased in speed as she acted as a counterweight to the head of her Piko Piko hammer. As the speed increased so did the turbulence; as she had hoped and planned, the disturbed air her actions generated were slowly but surely beat the flames back. As they died down, she dropped her hammer and fell to her knees, a little dizzy as she examined her hero for wounds.

Knuckles was stupefied; Amy had simply jumped – he couldn't take it in. In a state of profound shock, he simply slid the door to the cockpit closed and slumped down in the co-pilot's seat, jaws slack as he wondered what had made her do it.

"What was that?" Tails was swinging the plane round for a second pass and hadn't yet noticed the echidna's face. Knuckles lolled his head towards the fox, whispering,

"She jumped". Tails hand slipped on the controls as he whipped round to stare at the guardian, mouth falling open.

"What!"

"Amy, she just jumped out the plane", Knuckles' voice was distant and faint, "I've no idea why". Tails simply blinked before deciding to hell with his original plan. Speaking in a calm voice, the fox ordered,

"Knucks, buckle up and hold on". When he was sure the echidna had complied, the fox swallowed and hit a button at the side of the control panel, praying that all his calculations for torsion and stress would prove right.

In mid air, the Tornado began to morph into its walker mode. This combined the force of gravity and propulsion to produce rather a sharp trajectory to the ground. However, Tails had prepared for this kind of emergency and now his planning paid off; small jets around the mecha's feet fired up and slowed the descent somewhat. However, the impact was still severe; despite being braced, both Knuckles and Tails felt the shockwaves of landing ripple up and down their spinal cords like a once-over with a pneumatic drill. When he was sure they had both landed and weren't going to be moving any time soon, Tails popped the cockpit over and slapped Knuckles on the shoulder.

"Come on; we're going up". After a few seconds, the echidna unclipped himself and gripped the kit's wrists, hanging on as he had in the past as Tails took off, raising himself and his passenger off the floor as he battled for altitude.

Amy gently tapped Shadow on the side of his face; to her inexperienced eye, the black hedgehog simply looked like he'd been knocked out, though there was a bit of a bruise on his chin. As she gently tried to rouse the midnight hedgehog, she spoke in hushed, comforting tones,

"Come on Shadow, wake up, we need you to tell us what happened". Hope blossomed in her heart as he slowly started to come to.

"Urgh, who, oh let me sleep". Smiling for the first time in too long, the pink hedgehog poked him lightly in the ribs.

"Sorry sleepyhead, you can't nod off yet", she became more serious, looking deep into the crimson orbs that Shadow viewed the world through, she continued, "what happened to you all?" Shadow suddenly bolted awake, sitting straight up and glancing around as he gripped his head.

"Where are the others?" In response, Amy just pointed and watched as Shadow rolled closer to Sonic; the blue hedgehog still comatose despite her best efforts. Shadow replied to her question as he tried to wake his flat mate.

"Seraph got the jump on us; he had some kind of sound gun that knocked me out cold". Amy joined him in bullying Sonic to wakefulness and, to their combined relief, the blue wonder began to stir.

"Who's there?"

"It's me Sonic", Shadow answered, concerned as he noticed Sonic hadn't opened his eyes, "can't you see?"

"No; Seraph sprayed me with something, my eyes sting". Leaning forwards suddenly, Amy ran a finger down the blue hedgehog's cheek and tasted it; the taste was unmistakeable.

"Pepper", she exclaimed; Sonic had been hit with pepper spray, "wait with him" she told Shadow, looking around for something to help as Sonic moved his blind gaze towards her voice. She saw a small puddle, shielded from the light by a small rise of a skylight and raced towards it, needing the water to wash the pepper off. Scooping some up with cupped hands, she walked carefully back and threw it into Sonic's face.

"Gyyahh", the move took Sonic by surprise, but as the waters ran clear from his face and eyes it took the spray with it; gradually, though it still stung a little, he was able to open his eyes and see a blurry picture. As he waited, it became gradually clearer and he was able to make out the concerned faces of his friends.

"Amy, when'd you get here?"

"Never mind that, you're both safe". Amy caught both male hedgehogs in a joint hug and squeezed gently, making both squirm a little uncomfortably. After a second though, Sonic glanced around, closed his eyes and smacked a fist into his palm, anger clouding his normally smiling face.

"Damn, he beat us; he must have taken Rouge".

"What happened Sonic?"

"After you went down, we started fighting, and I mean going at it hell for leather", standing, Sonic walked over to where the red emerald lay, the gem having been untouched by the fire; how useless it was now, "I tried a Chaos Spear but he somehow reflected the attack, the chaos energy didn't touch him. So it was down to fighting and we lost". He sank his head in his hands as Shadow bowed his head and Amy's eyes filled with tears of concern for Rouge.

Tails panted as he forced himself to go faster; the building was high and he was tired, but his friends needed him and he pushed himself harder. He was within sight of the top storey and finally, with a last great effort, heaved himself up and over the roof itself, Knuckles' shoes catching on the safety rail as the echidna pulled them up as high as possible to help the fox out. As he dropped his passenger, the fox was simply astounded at the sight that greeted him; Sonic, Shadow and Amy were all waiting for him, his brother with the red Chaos emerald in his hand. His reaction, however, was nothing compared to Knuckles; the sheer relief the guardian felt as he saw Amy was unharmed simply knew no bounds. To the shock of all, suddenly it wasn't Amy giving the hugs.

"You dumb hedgehog", he couldn't decide whether to be angry at her recklessness or in awe of her bravery, but he spoke straight from the heart, "that's the kind of thing I expect from Sonic, not you; the Master knows I've got enough on my hands keeping him out of trouble".

"What is this idiot blabbering on about?" Sonic asked his younger brother whilst carefully probing the sore spot on the side of his head – _That'll be a bruise and no mistake_.

"This, this", Knuckles floundered for the right word, "this girl just jumped out of the Tornado to this roof to save your spiny butts from a fire; that is what I'm blabbering on about". _Okay, wasn't expecting that_ – Sonic was so stupefied Shadow who took the lead.

"Is, is he right Ames?" The black hedgehog looked so incredulous Amy found herself examining the floor rather hard.

"Well, it wasn't that high up, and you'd have done the same for me right?" Sonic marched up to her and put a hand on the shoulder of her pink dress,

"When this is over, I owe you a dinner date – you pick where".

When Amy had calmed down from this announcement, things turned undeniably grim – Rouge was nowhere to be found and Sonic was forced to grind out the unpalatable truth.

"Seraph got the better of us; he K.O.ed Shadow so we couldn't get to safety, then he beat both of us hand to hand. He even beat this", he held up the red gem, "the Chaos Spear bent round him, didn't touch him. I went out after he peppered me, I guess he, he must have taken Rouge". Sonic couldn't look Knuckles in the eye; he'd promised to protect her and what had happened – she'd been taken anyway. The echidna himself let out a low moan, sinking to his knees and then slamming his fist into the concrete of the roof, his spurs chipping the solid construction as he raved at himself.

"This is all my fault; he spied on us through me. He knew what we were planning and where to find us, all because of me".

"Knuckles, what…?" Shadow began but was cut off by Tails, the fox looking at the stricken echidna with a glance mixing pity with sorrow.

"Seraph had a tracker on Knuckles; we think he put it there during the first fight. He heard us all through it". Sonic watched as Knuckles' head sank in defeat, something he'd never seen happen before in all the time he'd known the head-strong guardian. The eternal flame of battle that gave the blue hedgehog his strength fired up at this sight; he placed his hands on Knuckles' shoulders and forced him to look into his green eyes.

"Knuckles, you couldn't have known about that kind of a trick – Seraph seems full of them. Look at what he did to me and Shadow to see that. We couldn't stop him this time, but I promise you this; we will get her back". For a few seconds the echidna was still and Sonic feared it had been in vain but then, with a gathering momentum, Knuckles pushed himself to his feet, accepting Sonic's help as he clasped hands with the blue warrior, the fires of battle mirrored in the green and violet eyes.

"We will" he said simply. Seeing the determination, Amy stepped forwards, hammer over one shoulder and placing her smaller hand on top of the pair of mitts currently holding each other,

"Count me in".

"Us too" Tails and Shadow echoed as they added their paws. The fires were lit; there was no backing down; Seraph had won a battle, but he would be sorely mistaken if he thought he had won the war.

"Tails, still got that tracker?"

"In the cockpit" the kit replied as he took hold of Knuckles again, preparing to lower the echidna to the floor. Sonic and Shadow had no such problems, even with Amy carried by one of them, the roof was long enough to get a run up decent enough to let them simply run down the side of the building. On the descent, Tails heard Knuckles' voice, strangely taciturn as the echidna thought hard.

"So it's come full circle; he was hunting us, now we hunt him for the same prize".

"Odd that, but there's one thing we've got he hasn't".

"That being?" Tails looked down at the guardian's upturned face and dramatically rolled his eyes,

"You can't figure it out Knucklehead", he sighed, "each other, you dummy".

As the hunt began for the five remaining heroes, their quarry had landed at this hideout, carrying the unconscious Rouge in his arms. He carefully moved into the main building of his warehouse complex and carefully set the bat down on a cleared workbench. Quickly examining his injuries, he reasoned that the damage to his shoulder would take a few days to fully repair; he would have to safeguard this weakness from his potential opponents. No matter; the implantation was necessary, then the transport to the final location would be boarded and he could rest on the journey. Lifting his masked face, Seraph opened the toolbox that contained the last one of his created devices; he lifted it from its metal storage with as much care as a nuclear technician deactivating a critical plutonium bomb. The device itself was a strange looking thing; squat and blocky with a long tail, it looked like nothing more than a metallic scorpion. Much like his armour, Seraph had not originally designed the concept for this machine – he had merely scavenged and tinkered with it until the finished product matched his requirements.

The procedure itself was simple as could be; lifting Rouge upright, Seraph placed the device on top of her head, observing dispassionately as the tiny suction caps on each of the six plastic feet vacuum sealed themselves to the skin of her scalp. Once he was certain the cap was secure, the most important and dangerous part of the instrumentation began – the tail of the scorpion was held in a gloved fist and slowly, with minute precision, was held to a tiny point of flesh at the nape of the bat's neck. The metal tip of the probe had been sharpened to the point where it was almost monomolecular. It didn't cut the flesh; a needle this fine simply sank almost between the cells of skin; a refinement on the original cruder and more painful insertion method. The tip was held for nearly ten minutes until the digital display on the top of the master unit flashed into life, stating a binary code. The implant had been a success.

Seraph again moved; carrying his final pawn of vengeance towards the transport he had waiting. In the forecourt of the warehouse complex sat a single lorry, the inside fitted with hastily sitting seating and seat belts. Unbolting the back of the motor, Seraph slid Rouge inside before hoisting himself up and in, his echolocation allowing him to navigate within he cramped, dark interior. He hefted the sedated bat to the only unoccupied seat and buckled her in swiftly; the sooner he was away from her the sooner the endgame could begin. As he secured the government spy, his special sight allowed him to pick out the other motionless figures and the stashed boxes.

There were four other figures in the darkness with him including Rouge; a mouse, a rooster, a weasel and a fox-cat cross, all restrained as his last guild target now was. As the final target had manipulated them to a deadly purpose so would he, hence the purpose of the skullcaps. All emotions and compassion were crushed and swept aside; in their current state, the former guild was now a crack team of workers that would stop at nothing to complete their orders by the most effective means possible. Just like the one who would command them.

As Seraph slid into the driver seat of the modified lorry and started it up, he began to shut his body down for recuperation. The assassin had calculated that the bat's innocents would be hot on his heels, tracing the movement of his target through the fox's tracer chip. He owed them the debt of explanation; they would have many questions to the nature of his materials. He bore them no grudges so disclosing the information was the fairest way to settle such a debt. Miles Prower had proved himself intelligent enough to nearly outwit him more than once, so the information mine he had left behind would be more than adequate to satisfy his curiosity. As the truck pulled out on its programmed route, under the guidance of a driving programme that mapped the road ahead more accurately than any human or Mobian could have hoped to, Seraph slept behind tinted windows, his pawns motionless in the space behind him.


	15. A Base Deserted

Chapter 13 – A Base Deserted.

Tails let Knuckles glide the last dozen or so feet to terra firma, allowing the fox to descend gently into the top of his mecha. As the others looked on, Tails disappeared before there was a low mechanical growl and the walker mode began to transform. The fox had realised that a plane wasn't always the most convenient mode of transport and, on appealing to none other than the President himself with a word in his ear from Rouge, had been granted a special license to add a third morph to his already incredible vehicle. The driving test itself had been a mere formality to someone as naturally gifted in mechanics as Tails, so within a couple of weeks the fox had become the youngest driver on the Station Square register. The Tornado rapidly mutated into an off-road jeep type machine, the engine purring as Tails popped open the driver's door and shouted,

"Hop in – the tracker's not too far away and it's standing still. Maybe we can catch up". All four of his friends piled in, Sonic and Shadow convinced that it wouldn't be safe for them to run after their battle. Sonic slipped into the passenger seat and glanced back; after assuring himself the other three were secure, he slapped his younger brother's shoulder.

"Let's roll". Tails grinned and gunned the engine, the Tornado lurching forwards as Tails concentrated on driving, flicking his eyes down occasionally to ensure he was going in the right direction.

"Any idea…"

"No", Tails cut off Amy's question, eyes never leaving the road, "I'm not sure where we're going and I can't go much faster than this".

"Why, something wrong?" Tails glanced round at the pink hedgehog's concern, smiling as he shook his head.

"No, but I'm just shattered – going faster would be dangerous for everyone".

"It might also warn him we're coming", Knuckles, sandwiched between Amy and Shadow in the back seats, spoke for the first time, "we won't accomplish anything by letting him know we're onto him".

"Good point, never thought of that" Amy admitted. A little while later, Sonic reached over and tapped the driver on the shoulder, whispering something quietly. All three in the back seats tensed as they felt the Tornado decelerate and pull up to a stop. Sonic unclipped his seatbelt and turned in his seat, addressing them all.

"The tracker's close, we're going in on foot to try and surprise him. Tails is staying here in case we need the big guns. Amy, you're…"

"Coming with you three", she met Sonic's eyes with a steely resolve, "you and Shadow aren't at your best, so you'll need all the help you can get if the psycho's home". Sonic decided argument was pointless as he saw the remorseless look in the pink hedgehog's eyes, a glare he often had when going up against whatever new machine Eggman had managed to dream up. Without another word, he popped his door open and let himself out, breathing the chilly night air in deeply as Shadow and Knuckles joined him. Amy was last to emerge, carrying both one of the radio units and the receiver for Rouge's tracer chip. Following her lead, all four of the pursuers moved silently, flitting between the shadows of street lamps as they closed on their goal. Stopping suddenly after a few minutes, Amy scrutinised the tracker signal, the green screen giving her face an eerie glow as she turned to her companions.

"It's the other side of this wall", she whispered quickly, causing Knuckles in particular to prick his ears, "there's a gate further down and but I can't see a way to open it from here". Sonic followed her finger and gave a small grin.

"I'll run it and see if I can find a way to open them. Wait here". Sonic took off, examined the gate sides and was back at Sonic speed, though the news was bad.

"There's a switch but it's been shorted, it won't work".

"Then it's up to me", Knuckles announced, sizing up the wall next to him and carefully beginning to force his knuckle barbs in, scaling up easily, whispering as he started, "wait by the gate, I'll try to open it from inside".

"Fine, but no heroics; come back if you can't" Shadow warned him. He received a tiny nod before the echidna was lost to sight.

Knuckles hugged the top of the wall as he crawled up over the top of it, straining to keep as low as possible to the brickwork. Carefully sliding down the other side, the echidna sighed in relief as his boots touched the stone of the floor. From what he had seen so far, he was in some kind of industrial lorry park, but there were nothing here at the minute, the place was deserted. Or so it appeared he reminded himself cautiously; he was not going to let his guard down again, so he stayed close to the shadow of the wall he'd just climbed over and made his way swiftly to the gate. Glancing around, his eyes saw the switch on this side hadn't been touched, so he trusted to luck and pressed it, turning to see if the noise of the gate opening brought any undue attention from any of the nearby buildings.

The squeaks and rattling clangs from the opening gate sounded abominably loud in the still darkness, so all three hedgehogs slipped in through the widening gap in their foe's defences. Knuckles was waiting for them, not sparing them a look as he kept sweeping the open ground in front of them with his sharp eyes. Shadow whispered to Amy as she took in the new surroundings,

"Which way?" The pink hedgehog looked a little lost for a second before remembering the tracker she still held. Consulting it, she gestured towards a smallish warehouse almost directly opposite them.

"Signal's coming from there".

"Right", Sonic pumped himself up and examined the distance involved; luckily for him his observation allowed him to spot a skylight in the warehouse roof, "ah, look there". He quickly pointed this out, asking,

"Knuckles, reckon you can climb up to that?" The echidna favoured him with a sarcastic smile,

"Can you get me to that wall?" Sonic rolled his eyes and motioned to Shadow and Amy,

"Wait here; if you see anything, shout us and radio Tails. Knuckles, take a look through the top and if it looks clear, wave. We'll go for the door when you do. That clear?" When he realised he was getting some mighty queer looks, he creased his brow in consternation.

"What?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Sonic?" Shadow looked at his blue counterpart slightly off-kilter, "he'd never have been able to come up with kind of idea".

"Hey, I can plan with the best of them; I just usually don't need to make plans 'cause I'm that good". He struck a victory pose as Amy snorted.

"That's Sonic alright".

"Now let's get going". Knuckles extended his hand and let himself be carried by the blue hedgehog, shutting his eyes to avoid the stinging wind caused by travelling so fast. Not more than three seconds later, the echidna felt the characteristic lurch of a Sonic stop. Without pausing, he sprang at the wall and forced himself up it, feeling the wind at his back as Sonic left. He slammed his hands into the warehouse side as he levered himself inexorably upwards; this was ranking as one of the fastest climbs he'd ever done. He owed it to both himself and Rouge to make it nothing less than his best effort. He pulled himself onto the roof and ran across it, heading for the skylight and carefully peering into it. It was almost totally dark in there, but from what little light there was it looked completely deserted; he could make out a table and a few other odds and ends but nothing concrete as he made his mind up – Rouge needed their help and, even if Sonic and Shadow were hurt, there was no way he was going to let Seraph beat all four, or even five of them. Standing to his full height, the echidna waved, then squatted, forced the skylight open and took a plunge into the darkness.

"Go!" Shadow led the way as he saw the silhouette of the guardian give the signal and then vanish out of sight. The flames of the black hedgehog's jet skates allowed the other two to follow him easy as pie; he led them to the door of the warehouse and gripped the handle. Giving a rattle, he cursed and faced them as they approached,

"It's locked". Amy pulled out the Piko Piko hammer, swinging it over her head as she used the momentum of her charge to bolster her hitting power. Shadow and Sonic both dived out the way as she yelled,

"Stand clear" and brought the weapon down inch-perfectly, the hammer head impacting on the lock of the warehouse door and cracking it, buckling the door frame and smashing the lock open. The door swung, silhouetting the pink hedgehog in its frame as her consorts picked themselves up off the floor, almost unable to believe what they'd just seen their normally placid friend just do. Noticing their expressions she smiled and flexed her arms, giving noticeable ripples as she hefted her hammer.

"These aren't just for show you know; now come on, the signal's in here". Leading the way, Amy wafted the tracker in front of her before locking onto the tracker bug. Peering over her shoulder, Sonic saw the way and took off, shouting over his shoulder.

"This way, it's over here, it…Knuckles?" The blue hedgehog skidded to a halt as his red friend loomed up out of the darkness. The guardian had his back to the hedgehog and appeared to be cradling something; Sonic felt his elation at tracking this place down drain out of him as he slowed his run to a crawl, feeling rather than seeing Amy and Shadow pull up next to him. Amy saw the peculiar way the echidna was acting and, closing her eyes and taking a fortifying breath, asked the question they all wanted answered.

"What's that Knuckles?"

"He knew", the echidna's normally deep voice was strangled and harsh, barely concealing how hard his discovery had hit him, "Seraph's led us here for nothing, just because he knew". Shadow took up the cue and approached, trying to see what the echidna was holding.

"What did he know?" Knuckles gave a deep sniff and began to turn around, the guilt trip he'd suffered earlier pale in comparison to the fact that his lack of caution had now dashed their last chance of finding their kidnapped friends.

"He knew how we'd follow him".

In his hand was Rouge's left boot, the tracer still attached to the sole.

"He can't be long gone", Shadow spoke up, straightening up and pointing to the others, "split up and search for clues, anything that could help find out where he's gone".

"I've done that here", Knuckles was still holding the footgear as he pointed, "I think there's a computer down there, but I didn't touch it". Amy ducked under the echidna's arm and vanished into the darkness, giving a triumphant exclamation as she unhooked the radio.

"Got it, it's a laptop. I'll get Tails onto this, you search outside".

"You heard the lady, let's move", Sonic headed towards the door before realising that Knuckles hadn't budged. The echidna looked up, smiling sadly.

"Do you think we can find her now; we've lost the trace, there's no chance…"

"Oi, you told me of earlier for that kind of talk", Sonic reprimanded before Shadow continued,

"I don't care if there's not a lot of chance, there's still some kind of chance, and that's enough for me. Now Seraph must have left in some kind of motor, if he'd flown there'd have been no reason for him to fuse the outside gate switch, so I'll go look for tyre tracks".

"Don't do that". Shadow put his hands on his hips and frowned,

"And why not?" Knuckles gave a small shrug and walked forwards,

"Because you don't have a clue about tracking; let me do it because I know what I'm looking for". With that, the echidna was gone out the door, a determined look on his face as he imagined what he'd do if he was Seraph.

Once Sonic had found the parking light switch, the echidna's task became easier; he could easily see that a large lorry had recently left the parking bay and turned right, but that was as far as he could see before the Tornado pulled up into the bay and Tails jumped out.

"Where's the laptop?"

"In there", Knuckles jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the warehouse he'd come out of before continuing, "sorry, Tails, he knew about the trace on Rouge; he must have heard it when you mentioned it earlier". The foxboy nodded, feigning disappointment as he left the echidna.

"Don't worry Knucks, if there's anything on that machine that can help us I'll find it". _If only you knew…_

"Go for it Tails; the other three are in there already". Watching the kit enter the warehouse, Knuckles turned back to the cold tarmac, willing the trial to become plain towards him, despite the virtually impossibility of the task.

Tails had run past where Shadow and Sonic were virtually disassembling the warehouse looking for clues to where Amy stood over the laptop like a protective statue, hammer out to ward off any who may have had evil designs on their best chance of finding their friends. Tails casually flipped the lid open, taking solace in the fact that all the keys seemed to be present and correct; it was unlikely Seraph had damaged the computer rather than take it with him. He hit the on key, remarking to Amy as he did so,

"I'll deal with this Ames; go help the gruesome twosome turn this place over, I'll shout if anything comes up". The pink hedgehog gave a thumbs-up and a sweet smile as she hefted her hammer, calling out to the other two hedgehogs if the needed any help. Tails smiled as Sonic tried to make an excuse that Knuckles would appreciate her help more but, typical Amy, she wasn't buying it. However, as the computer powered up and began to display a black background, he sobered up into pure business – two lives could be on the line and he was the only one who had any real experience with computers. He waited with baited breath as the icons began to appear; this was unusual, there weren't as many icons as there should have been. He'd been expecting this – Seraph would have been competent enough to delete, and properly delete, any sort of evidence he didn't want them to find, but what really caught him off guard was the fact that what was left was unguarded. Where were the passwords, the viruses, the shut-down clauses that should have tested his skills as a hacker? What was Seraph up to this time? No time to ponder that – keeping his fingers ready to react, the kit moved the cursor over one of the folders, this one labelled 'Information', and clicked it open.

Nothing, there was absolutely no opposition as he entered the folder and entered a gold-mine of research. There were seven files, all in text format, and one of them, he noticed, had his name on it; his real name. Clicking it open, the fox felt his jaw drop.

"Boy, Seraph did his homework" he muttered under his breath. There was a wealth of information relating to the kit in this file; there was a copy of his birth certificate, his driving license, some pictures of the Tornado and other titbits that would have been worth a fortune in blackmail. Especially that one! Tails quickly deleted the offending photo; he felt a surge of shame at having the images that should have been in a private file on his computer here for all to see. It had been Christmas and he'd started talking to Cream before realising they'd been stood under a sprig of mistletoe; Vanilla had snapped them when they weren't looking. It was just a one-off but he doubted Sonic and the others would see it that way. _I need to upgrade my firewalls, hello_, the kit craned forwards to see the last few words under the heading 'Summary':

Strengths: Extremely Intelligent.

Flaws: Physically weak.

Status: Innocent.

Grudge/Debt: Debt of information owed.

The last sentence rang a bell in the kit's alert mind; closing his file, he opened the file on Nack as it was directly above his own. Reading down to the summary, he noted the difference with confusion interspersed with relief:

Strengths: All rounder, crack shot.

Weaknesses: History.

Status: Target.

Grudge/Debt: Needed to settle primary grudge.

What did that mean? Seraph needed Nack for something, something to do with settling this primary grudge. Did that mean Seraph didn't have a grudge against Nack, or that he bore the primary grudge against Nack and would settle it with him? Closing it down and clicking up Rouge's file, he realised that the latter theory wasn't true; apparently Seraph needed Rouge as well. So he had kidnapped two Mobians to aid some further scheme – Nack and Rouge seemed to be a means to an end, but what was the end? As far as Tails knew, the only thing the two guild members had in common was just that, they had both been in the guild. Whatever Seraph was up to, it involved the guild that he had deserted and that had hunted him down – did he want revenge on all the other members? Shaking his head, the fox filed this line of enquiry away in his memory; he didn't have enough information to make a conclusion yet. Tails clicked out of that file and opened a second, this folder was entitled 'Tools'.

Two things were immediately apparent on opening this file; one, Seraph was extremely into his job and second, Tails had hit the money big style. Scrolling down past the grenades Seraph used, Tails took particular interest in the composition of his sleep grenade; it was apparently a completely legal device as all the ingredients could be found in over the counter medicines, but purifying the chemicals and creating the skin of the grenade must have taken weeks of work. Carrying on, the weapons section came up; the Sypder flashed past, accompanied by a selection of other blades; there were no firearms; that struck Tails as unusual – maybe Seraph wasn't a gun killer. It was when the armour came up that Tails really sat up straight, reading the formula for its construction at record speed as he quickly realised why the Chaos Spear had failed. The fox was so engrossed in his task that he never heard Shadow approach.

"How's it going?"

"AAAHHHH", the fox launched himself up three feet vertically, mind filled with visions of a less-than-impressed Seraph wanting to know why Tails was snooping in his private folders. The fact that Shadow was black furred didn't help matters as the hedgehog jerked back, worried by the violence of the fox's reaction.

"Shadow", Tails managed to gasp as he dispelled the illusion of a diabolic assassin after his blood, "don't do that!"

"Sorry, find anything yet".

"You bet", the kit pointed towards the screen, "that's how he was able to beat the Chaos Spear". Shadow leaned over the back of the chair, examining the screen intently; if this was how, maybe they could counter it somehow. The diagram was a cross-section of the leather armour Seraph wore with colour-coded labels that basically translated into extra armour compartments made of Kevlar, heat resistance systems, air pores to let the skin breathe and something else. Running through the entire suit was a network of what looked like sludge, but that idea changed when he read the accompanying label:

_Network of water mixed with powered Chaos emerald. Isolates wearer from Chaos attacks as energy from one Chaos Emerald can not affect a different Chaos Emerald._

Shadow blinked as he tried to take this in; while wearing his suit of leather armour Seraph was basically wearing a Chaos Emerald, completely immune to all forms of Chaos attack.

"Pretty impressive, don't you think?" Tails twisted in his seat to meet Shadow's shocked look. The black hedgehog chose his next words with delicacy.

"Tails, you do realise that this means Seraph can't be hit by any of our Chaos Spears, Chaos Controls and maybe even our super forms?"

"Not if you hit him in the head", Tails indicated the screen again, pointing out that the diagram ended at the neck of the suit, "his mask's not on the diagram, you might be able to catch him there. Also, it might not work fully; it's only been tested on one Chaos Spear that we know of".

"I wouldn't put money on it; anything else?"

"Not yet, give me another couple of minutes and I'll let Seraph pay off his debt".

"Wha'?" Tails pulled up Shadow's information file, showing him the summary.

"He owes everyone here a debt of information – I think this computer is it", when this was met with silence, the kit looked up at his hedgehog companion, "Shadow?"

"I, I don't remember this". The ultimate life-form pointed at pictures in the information and shook slightly, not remembering his photo as it was taken when he was aboard the ARK by Amy, just before he and Sonic defeated the Biolizard and he had been lost through the atmosphere. Tails clicked his fingers and pawed his arm,

"Shadow, go into the Tornado; in the driver's door compartment there's some CDs. Get one; I'll copy this out for you". Shadow remained immobile for a few seconds before vanishing, just hearing the kit' shouted order,

"Let Sonic and Knuckles know about the suit".

While Shadow was on his errand, the kit opened the last folder. The title of 'Control' seemed a little ominous but it was the smallest file available out of the three. The result was a single diagram and explanation, but as soon as Tails got to the word neural, he had a vague idea of what this was about. A coldness crawled over his skin as the full implications of what this device was meant for was spelt out for him. The summary confirmed the kits fears:

All five secondary targets implanted. Proceed to engage primary target. Settle primary grudge.

As the fox reread the statement to ensure he knew how the device worked, there was a sound behind him followed by Shadow's voice.

"Okay, they all know now; Amy's happy that he's not immune to being hammered and I've got the CD you asked for".

"Shadow, get the others", the black hedgehog was brought up short by the normally cheerful fox's downcast tone, "I think I've figured out what all this is about". As he heard the footsteps recede, Tails wondered just how he'd be able to break the news to Knuckles and the others.

"Hey guys", Sonic looked over as Shadow raced up, hailing them, "Tails says he's got a breakthrough, we'd better get inside". Amy smiled as she made her hammer vanish.

"Knew our little genius wouldn't let us down". Knuckles sighed resignedly, agreeing with the pink hedgehog,

"Yeah, just as well; we figured out that he's in a lorry and he turned right out of here, that's about it. Lead on Macduff" the echidna asked of Shadow. Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't know you read Shakespeare Knucks?"

"What you know about my hobbies could be written on a pinhead with a pneumatic drill" the echidna answered coolly. Sonic made a gagging noise and pulled a face,

"I consider that a good thing; but anyway, I preferred The Merchant of Venice to Macbu…" the rest of the sentence was smothered as a glove suck itself to Sonic's mouth.

"Shhhh", Amy hissed in his ear as she clamped her hand tighter, glancing about as if he'd uttered a terrible hex, "Call it the Scottish Play; if you say its name out loud it's bad luck".

"I think it'd be even worse luck if you didn't let go any time soon" Shadow remarked as Sonic tried to shift the paw that had vulcanised to his lips.

"Huh, oh sorry Sonic, but that was an emergency".

"You are an accident waiting to happen, you know that", the blue hedgehog remarked as he wiped his mouth, "but you're right and the last thing we need now is more bad luck".

"Here, here, now come on, Tails will be waiting". Knuckles led them in, hoping against hope that somehow, he'd found out where the assassin had taken his victims.

_Okay, right, I think I've got this..._ Tails took a last deep breath as the other four gathered around where he was sat. Turning to face them and composing himself, he began,

"Right, Seraph left this here deliberately; apparently he owed us all a debt of information and this is supposed to pay it off. He's left some stuff on it…"

"Can we use it to find Rouge and Nack?" Shadow piped up, interrupting Tails' carefully planned speech. Facing up to the truth, he answered slowly,

"From this, no", the fox saw, almost unintentionally, Knuckles clench his fists and screw his eyes shut at this information, "but I think I've figured out what Seraph's going to do next". The echidna's head shot up,

"What, how do you know that?"

"It's on here; apparently, Seraph's got a lot of information on each of us, but under Nack and Rouge's entries there's a statement saying that they're needed to settle a primary grudge. Now I'm not sure what that means", Tails cut off the questions before they started, "but from what I can tell Seraph needs them alive".

A large amount of tension evaporated at this statement but Tails carried on,

"So he wants them all alive, but there's something else as well. Look at this", he brought up the file showing the control file as the others crowded round, "this is some kind of neural controlling device that implants directly into the central nervous system. Once in, the neural fibres inside it connect to the brain tissue and override it".

"Mind control" one of the four breathed, shocked by this squat, blocky construct on the screen in front of them, the thin tail completing the illusion of a metal scorpion.

"Yeah, basically", Tails agreed, "this is sophisticated stuff; give someone one of these and they're putty in you hands – tell them to eat, they'll eat, jump and they'll jump etcetera. This is the clincher though", Tails pointed to the last sentence, "this says Seraph has five secondary targets implanted. We know he's got two of them; who are the other three?" Knuckles felt his eyes widen.

"The guild", he continued, tone becoming increasingly feverish as he spat out the idea, "there were five excluding Seraph; Rouge, Nack, that Jessie mouse, the rooster and, er, Chalkie, right. There's the five secondary; he's gone after the entire guild and he's got them all now".

"The question is; why did he to capture the five who plotted to kill him…"

"Four, Rouge said she wasn't at that meeting" Knuckles chipped in. Shadow nodded before continuing,

"Okay, he captures all the others, including the one who actually tried to kill him, and he's manipulating them with these things. But why, and what's the primary grudge?"

"Know what I think?" Everyone turned to Sonic as the blue blur straightened, face thoughtful and eyes narrow as he thought.

"Go on, enlighten us".

"I think this has Eggman written all over it".

As the others took time to mull that statement over, Sonic went on to explain,

"Think about it; these grenades, Chaos-proof armour, mind control – that just reeks of Eggman. I reckon Seraph's got a contract out for these five and Eggman's the one with the pay check".

"Why though; what use would Eggman have for the five – remember he probably doesn't even know the guild ever existed, it was pretty secret". This deflated the hedgehog a little but he carried on regardless.

"Well, if anyone would find out it'd be him, and the use, well, you tell me. A collection of professional spies, thieves and espionage experts, what couldn't Eggman do?"

"He's got a point, but anyway, that's not too important right now. We've still got to find Rouge and the others. How?" It was at this point that Tails offered a suggestion, secretly hiding his last trick card for fear of causing a mini riot.

"Look, it's too late to try anything now and none of us have slept properly for at least three days. I'll get the Tornado ready and we bed down here for the night; we'll talk about this tomorrow".

"But…"

"No, Knuckles, he's right", Shadow stepped in as the echidna made to argue, "we're no good to anyone if we're all dead on our feet. I'll get the car fixed, and here's the disk you asked for", he handed a nondescript CD to the fox before turning and herding the others back towards the waiting car and sleep. Tails opened the CD drive and quickly waited for Shadow's file to download onto disk; the black hedgehog would be able to dissect it at his leisure. While he was in the information section, a thought occurred to Tails – it was a little childish, and it must have been embarrassing, but on the other hand he was really curious and, besides, no secrets between brothers right? He opened the file he needed and saw the answer in a few seconds. He closed the file, popped open the disc and took out the CD before closing the laptop down.

Knuckles was waiting for the fox as he approached the Tornado. Speaking quietly, the echidna led,

"Listen Tails, thanks for that".

"No problem".

"We've sorted out the sleeping and you're in the driver's seat, that okay?"

"Cool".

"Good, and thanks again, you're a …" catching a look at the fox's expression, the echidna became a little more concerned, "you feeling alright?"

"Fine, just tired". The fox opened his door and slid in, whispering his goodnights; he didn't dare check the rear view mirror in case he lost it completely.


	16. Race with the Devil

Chapter 14 – Race with the Devil.

The sound of a metallic bleep and a continually winking red light pierced into Seraph's resting state; the former guild member was instantly fully prepared for any kind of assault. His rest had been interrupted by a light on the dashboard, the vehicle required refuelling and had already identified the nearest refuelling station along the course he had plotted for it. Working the controls of the truck, the creature of the night pulled into the gas station and aimed deftly for one of the diesel pumps. Checking his alignment, the bat opened his door and emerged into the enclosed area, rapidly forcing the diesel pump into the correct fuel hole and filled the tank, running up a bill of nearly sixty before the tank was filled. Rapidly moving towards the cashier, he brought out the money necessary to pay for the fuel; to maximise efficiency, he wanted the secondary targets in the appropriate position before the sun rose; that would give him enough time to infiltrate the primary target's base of operations and then trigger the assault. The grudge that had plagued him for seven years would soon be destroyed; the perpetrator of the crime would be undone by his own insidious methods.

The teenage cashier was reading a newspaper and peered over the top of it as the bell rang; he had to take two good looks to assure himself what he was seeing was actually real. No-one dressed like that in this day and age; he had a few Goth friends but not even they were that extreme. The leather the customer was wearing was crackling as he moved around, buying several bottles of water and a moderate amount of food. The young cashier started as his newest, and if that fuel bill was anything to go buy, most wealthy client strode towards him and he saw no face, just a black mask. He wasn't a shy guy by any stretch of the imagination and he was safe behind half an inch of bullet-proof glass, so the teen squared himself as a few bills were slipped under the counter.

"Sorry sir, could you take your, er, mask off a second?" For a second the figure didn't react, then he made a few gestures with his hands. The cashier shook his head,

"Sorry, can't understand sign language – here, write on this". He slid a small pad of post-it notes under the gap in the counter, the thicker wedge of paper displacing the crisp monetary notes. The customer, it was one of those man-sized mammals, he was sure of it but didn't voice the theory out loud, took out a pen and scribbled a word down – Why?

"Company policy".

**The one instance where the law could be broken. Face must be concealed to prevent recognition.**

Luckily this was not a problem Seraph was unfamiliar with; in the rare instances he actually had to interact with people he was often asked, threatened to or in some cases ordered to abandon his camouflage. To combat this seeming obsession with security, he had devised many strategies to allow his mask to remain – now was as good a time as any to put one of them to use. Writing his reasoning on the sketch pad the clerk had provided for him, he utilised the first reason he had ever devised. Holding the pad up in view, the assassin quickly realised that this delay to his journey would hopefully end relatively soon.

Bad facial burns – okay that was a valid reason. The cashier nodded and swiftly counted the money, continuing to make a seemingly one-way conversation with his mute customer.

"Nasty, still, will it heal up soon?" The customer gave an exaggerated shrug as the teen calculated the change and rang the till.

"Where you headed for?" There was a little more writing as the coins were slid under the counter and a black glove closed over them. The clerk saw his reply as the customer took his merchandise and headed for the door.

"Oh right, that's a trek. Have a good trip". There was a slight wave as the door bell rang and Seraph departed.

Heaving open the back of the lorry trailer, the silent Mobian hoisted himself in and rapidly placed a bottle of water and a food item of some description in the hands of each of the guild members. The cranial plating each wore was programmed to allow the hosts to partake of sustenance at specific times; enough to maintain a body at a resting state but not enough to allow the accumulation of body fat. This pattern would return almost indefinitely, until some key phrases were spoken and the secondary programming overrode this resting state. These phrases included mundane commands such as 'come', whereby the brain box would instruct the host towards the transmitter held in Seraph's glove. There was one phrase, unknown to all but the programmer, which gave a much more unusual response; it was this response that Seraph had calculated would allow the grudge to be avenged fully – his primary target would be destroyed by the same methods and people that he had used to destroy the creature that had become Seraph. The bat shook his head; fulfilling the grudge was the only concern at the moment and the likelihood of endeavour succeeding was decreasing with the time spent here. Closing the back door and jumping into the cab, Seraph gunned the engine and allowed the programme to take over again; maximum efficiency had yet to be attained and his wounded right shoulder had yet to fully heal, but he had still some three hours of travel to regain his lost performance.

Tails opened his eyes as the sun began to streak in through the windscreen of his vehicle; the fox was one of those lucky people that always rose with the sun. Didn't matter if he'd only been asleep for a couple of hours, or even a couple of minutes, but once he'd been hit by a solitary sunbeam that was it, he was awake and he wouldn't be able to sleep again. Yawning and dashing the sleep from his eyes Tails rapidly realised that he was the only one conscious; Amy's chin was rising and falling in tandem with her deep breathing while the other three were stretched out in the back, the seats having been completely lowered to allow them to lay down. This was it then, time to be off and try to catch up with whatever scheme Seraph had in mind. Reaching across, the fox carefully buckled Amy in safely and then reached into the jeep's glove compartment, simultaneously smiling and sighing as he realised it had finally come to this; he'd hoped he wouldn't have had to let anyone know about this development he'd created, but now there was no hope of it staying under wraps. _Still, if it helps save my friends, that's all that matters_, reassuring himself that this was the right thing to do, the fox turned over his shoulder and reversed out of the parking bay, revved up gently and then took off onto the open road, occasionally glancing down into his lap to ensure he was heading in the right direction.

The Tornado had just passed the twenty mile barrier around Station Square and Tails was just consulting his impromptu map when the person next to him stirred. Amy stretched as much as was possible before realising that her previously stationary bed was now on the move. Looking around for a few seconds while she regathered her bearings, Amy's eyes eventually fell on her chauffer.

"Tails, where, er, where are we going?" The fox flashed a grin that reminded her far too much of Sonic in her direction before answering.

"Where do you think we're going – after Rouge of course".

"Oh, okay", Amy was dumbfounded for a minute; she could have sworn that Tails had said he hadn't been able to find the route from the laptop, "how do you know where she is?"

"Easy, I used the tracker". This just confused the rose hedgehog even more,

"But Seraph took her boot off, the tracker's not on her, unless", she gave an incredulous expression as the realisation dawned and Tails gave a cramped victory pose, "you sly little fur-ball".

"Oh yeah, cunning as a fox me", the kit replied as he glanced downwards and turned right. Amy shook her head and smiled deeply.

"Okay wise guy, how'd you do it this time?"

"I didn't trust the fact that just because we were out of the cabin Seraph wouldn't be able to hear us; he put the fruit in there in the first place remember".

"Yeah, that's right", she snapped her fingers, "and he wouldn't have known we were going there unless he'd tracked Knuckles before then".

"Right, I thought it was Nack at first, I actually never suspected Knuckles", the fox admitted before continuing, "so I thought that just in case that was the case, we'd need a second way to keep in touch with Rouge if Seraph still managed to find her. Luckily I had just the thing", he indicated the radar device on his lap, "this is the most powerful tracker bug I've got; I always keep it in the glove compartment of my Tornado. I was going to use it if Sonic and I needed to be separated in enemy territory, but that hasn't happened yet. While the rest of you were sleeping, I flew back to the Tornado and got the bug". Amy felt her eyes widen as she tried to follow this; despite herself, she began to agree with Rouge.

"Rouge was right, you need to consider starting a career as a spy; with gadgets like that you could be the next James Bond". She gave a small giggle as Tails thought about that scenario.

"No way; could you imagine me in a tux in shedding season?"

"Okay, maybe not Bond himself, but you could be the gadget guy, Q".

"Maybe, but anyway", Tails steered away from the diversion, pleasurable as it was, "I got the bug and quickly woke Rouge. I whispered my plan to her and she swallowed the tracker – that way Seraph couldn't get to it without serious meddling".

"Clever, but", she voiced a concern as she remembered one of the fox's previous disclosures, "how powerful is it? You said the other one couldn't transmit between Station Square and Knuckle's Island". To her surprise, Tails patted her knee and said in a comfortingly,

"Don't worry Ames; I made this for Sonic remember? This baby will transmit pretty much across a continent, not even Seraph could get that far in a night. We're onto him now; I hope he's ready for a serious butt-kicking". Amy echoed his wolfish smile and put an arm across his shoulder, winking at him.

"Too right; he wanted my hammer, so I'm going to let him have all and then some. Should I wake the others?" Tails shook his head,

"No, let them sleep, we'll need to be as fully rested as possible when we catch up. Oh, but if Knuckles rolls onto his back, give him a poke will ya?" A pink eyebrow was raised curiously as its owner smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Why?"

"You've never heard him snore have you?"

"Knuckles snores?" Amy was suffering a recursion of the giggles and Tails was in severe danger of becoming infected; he made no move to immunise himself, however – if anything he actively encouraged them.

"Like a buzz-saw".

"Got a Dictaphone in here?"

"No", Tails was a little shocked by this request, "you devious little…that's just nasty. Recording a helpless echidna snoring, why?" Amy's eyes gleamed,

"Think of the bribery. Floating Island; the waterfalls, the walking, the sights".

"Check the glove compartment and your door; there might be one lying around somewhere".

Morning was nearly half done as a single articulated lorry pulled down a seemingly deserted stretch of dirt track, towards some abandoned mines nearly three hundred miles away from the prosperous city of Station Square. The destination appeared to be completely random; all that remained out in these desolate plains were a few tiny border towns and the mines themselves. Once these had been rich reserves of copper, lead and opal, but those times had long since passed. The ores had run dry, the miners had moved on and all that remained where their structures, the once busy lanes of industry had been sealed off and warning signs had been erected to ward off any would-be prosperers and wayward children.

The generally accepted fact was that there nothing here, at least nothing that would attract the attention of a transport company; Seraph, however, did not believe this general consensus. In fact, he had journeyed down into the depths of the mines themselves years before in the past. The trek into the darkness of the earth had been long and arduous, but ultimately had been worth it as he had discovered what he had searched for. Below his feet was something the government would have given a collective left arm for and he had pinpointed its location, marking it with a dormant beacon that would only activate under specific conditions. Only four months ago, an electronic image of this continent had suddenly been lit up by a tiny dot; the signal had been broadcast and Seraph had rapidly prepared. He had been careful; during the previous visit, he had skilfully destroyed all but the five most direct routes to the heart of his goal. Now, the primary target was in a known location unaware and unsuspecting of the fate that would rapidly befall it.

**There. One entrance to be covered. Disembark.**

Pulling his ride to a stop, the former guild member rapidly leapt from his position and, after extracting the required tools from the back of the lorry, made his way slowly towards the seemingly innocuous mine entrance. A whispered word in the receiver on his glove with the smallest finger clenched ensured his footsteps were dogged loyally by a second, larger Mobian. After ensuring the area was clear, Seraph selected a shady spot, marked on the mine entrance with a single scratch from a fine knife blade, and had his companion stop and stay there. Rapidly outfitting his unwitting helper, the assassin departed, leaving Chalkie the fox-cat standing stone-still outside a single mine entrance, guarding it whilst wearing the equivalent of Kevlar riot protection and armed with an ominously large projectile weapon.

**One entrance secured. Secure others before beginning infiltration.**

He was being rocked, gently and slowly. It was a sensation that was unusual to him, but it felt strangely pleasant, the sense of warmth all around him and the low purring from somewhere only aiding his illusion that he had attained Nirvana. Sighing, the blue hedgehog didn't resist as there was another, more forceful rocking of the cradle he felt himself in, this time succeeding in dislodging him from his position and sending him rolling to the right. The hedgehog impacted on something soft and squishy and in turn felt something soft roll up against him, helping to warm the right side of his body. Something brushed his face; it was light and feathery, disturbing him as he tried to get more comfortable. It wasn't moving, continuing to irritate the skin of his face as he tried to remain under the gossamer blanket of beautiful sleep. After a few seconds of ignorance he resigned to defeat; the whatever-it-was had more persistence than he did at the minute; he was going to have to move. Flicking the mystery thing with a hand, Sonic reluctantly peeled open a single eye. _Wow, that's red_. He closed his eye quickly – he hadn't expected to see something that bright so early in the morning. Trying to get his brain to cycle through the gears, Sonic tried to logically find out what this thing could be. Getting a second, longer look, he realised that a small red worm had been nuzzling him, this had awakened him, and several worms were attached to the head of this…he jolted awake; he was in a confined space, possibly a moving vehicle, with Knuckles Echidna snuggled up next to him!

There was a violent shuffling from behind them, so Amy poked her head round in time to see Sonic shove the still sleeping Knuckles away from him and sit up, a look of mixed wonder and disgust twisting his face.

"Morning Sonic", she said brightly; as her voice only seemed to confuse his further, she decided to explain the situation a bit, "you're in the Tornado, we all slept in here tonight". Sonic closed his eyes and willed his mind to remember the events of last night; they had been undeniably grim and ill-boding, he certainly remembered that before, oh yes, Amy was right; they had all crashed in his young bro's machine for the night. Giving a haggard smile, the hedgehog exercised his eyelids and asked,

"What happened?" Amy made to answer but seemed to check herself as she realised Sonic was the only one on the back three awake.

"Wake the other two up first, gently" she demanded as Sonic made to wind up a grand-slam punch to the echidna's prone form; vengeance, he reasoned, for the guardian giving him such a shock as he woke up. The blue hedgehog tried to look aggrieved at being denied his free hit, but capitulated at Amy's stern face. He decided to settle for a rough shake and caustic comment instead.

"Yo not-so-rad red", he increased the force of his shake as Knuckles made to roll away from him before an evil idea took root in his mind. Leaning forwards, the hedgehog whispered in the echidna's ear, "The Master Emerald's been stolen".

"WHA!" The guardian shot to his feet; unfortunately for him, the roof of the Tornado's car mode wasn't high enough to allow that and all he managed to achieve was a thump on the top of his noggin. He sat back down as Sonic's laughter rang in his ears.

"Well, that one worked".

"What are you going on about faker?" Sonic looked over his shoulder to see that Knuckles' pratfall had awakened Shadow, the black hedgehog pushing himself to his hands and knees. Before Sonic could answer a large, spurred hand attached itself around his neck and Sonic quickly found himself face-to-face with a rather irate guardian. Sonic saw his reflection in Knuckles' blazing purple eyes and gave a cheesy grin as the guardian cocked his other fist.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put you back to sleep, permanently?"

"Because we might need him to rescue Rouge", came a voice from the driver's seat. The echidna released his choke hold and glowered at the hedgehog as Shadow looked at the origin of the voice.

"Rescue Rouge, how?"

"You found her?" Knuckles forgot his quarrel with Sonic immediately; hope flaring up in his heart at Tails' announcement, "you know where she is?" Amy answered for the driver as Tails took a left and right in quick succession.

"Yep, our little Einstein came through again". Knuckles unclenched his fists, looking like the weight of the whole world had been lifted off his shoulders. Sonic noticed this and clapped him on the shoulder, offering unspoken apology and assurance as he asked,

"How'd you do it bro?"

"Long story short, I had Rouge swallow a second tracker – this was more powerful than the…"

"YOU DIDN'T TELL US?" Knuckles gripped the back of Tails' seat until the upholstery threatened to tear from its moorings, "you knew where that maniac was taking her and didn't let us know?" The echidna couldn't believe Tails had been so stupid; they could have followed almost immediately and caught up to Seraph much earlier. He felt a hand on his arm; Shadow shook his head and stated firmly,

"I'm sure Tails had his reasons, and damaging the Tornado won't help", the black hedgehog turned to the fox and asked calmly, "I assume you wanted to rest up first".

"Got it in one", Tails turned to face his passengers momentarily, Amy facing forwards, "it was pointless chasing as we were; Shadow and Sonic were still smarting and I couldn't have driven safely, not without sleep. I kept quiet because if I had have told people we'd have all taken off like headless chickens and lost any semblance of order at all". The logic of this argument worked on Knuckles' misplaced fury and it dissipated slowly; he gradually released his crushing grip on the back of the driver's head rest and sat back, breathing more freely as he realised that now the trail was warm again, he had a chance to both save Rouge and swallow his pride to admit a few things. Things he should have said a long time ago. The echidna gave a sad smile; it was true what the old stories said, you never truly missed something until it was gone – now he knew Rouge was missing, and even worse, possibly in danger, it was like there was a hollow cave been scooped in his soul. Sonic, noting Knuckles had thankfully fallen silent, piped up,

"How far are we behind them?" The answer fired up all of the pursuers to a new level of hope.

"Only about a hundred and seventy miles now and the transmitter's stationary". There was an outbreak of minor celebration as Sonic and Shadow exchanged a high five and Amy gave Tails a one-armed hug, forcing the fox to duck and pretend to scrutinise the map to try and hide the light blush that brought out. Knuckles grinned and silently offered up a prayer of thanks to whoever felt like answering that Tails was on their side.

"How'd you manage to close him down?" The young genius answered the guardian's question after a second's recollection of the drive thus far.

"I've been driving pretty much since dawn; you know how I am with sunlight", there was a nodding for Sonic and Shadow; both knew that once Tails was awake, that was it, he'd not sleep again, "well I've since I started I realised the Tornado's faster than whatever he's driving, so I've been catching up steadily. When the opportunity presented itself", the fox shared a secret smile with his new partner in mischief, "I went off-road to try and catch up as well". Amy couldn't hold it in at this point; she fished her mobile out of her dress pocket and lit the screen up.

"That was the funniest thing ever", she looked seriously as the three older Mobians, "you were all bouncing around like ping-pong balls, and the positions…" she tailed off, leaving the three sweating as she got to the pictures section of her phone. Opening the most provocative picture she'd managed to capture, the rose hedgehog passed her phone backwards and ducked down, waiting for the explosion with Tails. Right on cue, it arrived.

"NO!"

"Is that even possible normally?"

"Only if you get ribs removed".

"What are you doing with those barbs?"

"You can talk; look at you playing with my hair". Shadow decided to take the initiative but before he could react Amy had snatched her phone back with a sly smile.

"Nuh uh, I'm recording these for all posterity". Shadow felt his skin crawl as the thoughts of that photo falling into the wrong hands, he couldn't allow it!

"Amy, please delete those pictures". The black hedgehog's voice was thick and shame-filled but that didn't sway the younger hedgehog; she wanted to make the most of this.

"Oh no, I think I'll keep these, just in case, you know?" As she slid her phone back safe into her pocket, she missed Shadow put his finger to his lips and slide up silently behind her chair. The first she knew of his attack was when both his hands snapped round the side of the seat in a two-pronged assault on her sides.

"Eeeekkk no, Shadow stahahahap!" Amy thrashed to try and get away but was held in place by her seatbelt. The black hedgehog was relentless; poking his head over the shoulder of the chair, the ultimate life-form demanded.

"Hand it over or I go for the ribs". The black hedgehog has discovered this was her worst spot as a result of a moment of summer madness; he, Tails and Cream had been dragged into an all-out wrestling bout as Amy had made to leap on Sonic at a barbeque Tails had hosted and the blue hedgehog had dodged. All five had fought each other happily until Cream discovered that Sonic couldn't take the back of his knees being touched. One thing had led to another and Shadow had eventually been crowned the victor after overpowering Amy herself; he hadn't wanted to hurt her and had been at a loss until a quiet voice in his ear had pointed out she was vulnerable in this respect. A Shadow speed tickle attack had had her screaming for mercy and tapping out, granting Shadow bragging rights for the rest of the day, or at least until Tails had introduced the water pistols.

"Okay, just quiheeheeheet", Shadow stopped tickling and Amy, face flushed, handed her phone over, telling him straightforwardly how to delete the artworks she'd created, "that was a rotten trick" she complained.

"And taking photos of people when their asleep isn't?" Knuckles queried as Sonic snatched the phone and moved into the photo area, the other two watching over his shoulder, grimacing as each new image flashed up.

"We never speak of this again, right?" This idea was greeted enthusiastically by the other two, though there were some sniggers from the driver's seat. Sonic, face red as a cherry, spoke to Tails as he tried to contain himself.

"And one word from you and I'll do something I might very well regret later". _Carry on threatening me and I might too – no, not now – aww, but his face – no! – oh okay, you're the boss_; Tails nodded mutely, keeping his deadly knowledge inside himself for now, like magma stewing inside a volcano. And like a volcano, this secret was too big to stay inside; sooner or later there was going to be an explosion of biblical proportions. For now though, Tails had managed to postpone the inevitable.

A while later, the situation had changed a little thanks to a most fortunate pit stop; as Tails had filled up the Tornado, Knuckles had used his head and, just on the off chance, had asked the gas station cashier if anyone else had called in during the night. The information that a strange guy dressed all in black, including a mask that had covered his burnt face, had caused the echidna to pretty much leap for joy; having told the others as the fuel bill was paid, they had all taken this as a sign that they were on the right track. The till worker, once he realised that Sonic the hedgehog and his friends were in his station, proved to be a proverbial goldmine of information; he remembered that the customer had been driving a truck and run up a high bill of gas and plenty of provisions. As they had reboarded the Tornado, Shadow had summed up.

"Right, he passed through about five, maybe six hours ago; how far behind him are we now?" Amy ducked to peek in Tail's lap and answered,

"About a hundred and five miles, but he's moved a bit since then; it looks like he's going in a rough sort of circle".

"Right, assume we can move at sixty for the rest of the trip, we get to the tracker in about an hour and…"

"Hang on, it's moving".

This was the last potential exit for his target; the remainder were covered by four members of his brainwashed posse. Looking down, Seraph called on his catalogue of memories to remind himself of how far this shaft descended. This would be critical; the mine shaft was like a bordered up, ten foot by ten foot plunge into darkness, there wasn't much room to manoeuvre just for himself and his wings weren't meant to glide like his tools' were. Completing his recollections, he commanded his target to rest and then took hold of her. Straddling over the fence and warning signs painted on the weather-beaten wood, Seraph halted on the edge of the precipice then simply dropped downwards, holding Rouge in his arms as his wings slowed the fall into the shadows.

"Okay, it's stopped now". A collective breath was let out as Amy, who had kept her eyes trained on the tracker's icon the whole time, made the announcement. Knuckles wasn't sure if he could take too much more of this; raising his voice from his backseat he demanded,

"Put pedal to the metal Tails; we gotta get there now".

"Way ahead of you". There was a sudden burst of acceleration as Tails floored it onto the open road; there was no turns for at least the next twenty miles, so Tails decided to push it a little as Knuckles, closing his eyes and settling back in his seat, crossed his fingers within his mighty gloves, silently pleading that Rouge would be okay when they arrived.

**Landing completed. Equip tool appropriately. Progress to final objective.**

Letting his burden slide from his arms, Seraph slowly and carefully closed his wings; he could not sense anything that might have been a camera, but having thoroughly researched his target he had given himself zero margin for error; a single instant of complacency now could undo all his prior planning. He swiftly bent down and pulled a pair of pistols out from his thigh holsters then unbuckled them, letting them fall to the ground. They restricted his movement and banged against the rest of his camouflage, increasing the noise he made and making the risk of discovery much too high. Clenching the ring finger of his left hand, Seraph placed the pistol butts in the fruit bats' hands before uttering a command.

"Hold". The guns were immediately seized in a grip of iron, the brain box unwilling to release that which it had been commanded to seize. The last implement of his vengeance was now in place; the primary, final target was surrounded by a ring of steel and soon Seraph himself would make escape impossible. Then, only then, would the others know and his grudge be truly settled for all time. No time to lose; the sooner he was in place the sooner the endgame would begin. Moving into the shadows of the mineshaft, Seraph disappeared round the nearest corner towards his goal and clenched his entire left fist, opening the communications to all five of his temporary puppets.

"Guard" and it was done; there was no escape, and there would be no mercy.

"Only about thirty minutes people", Tails had been keeping a heavy eye on time since he'd been able to prove Shadow's prediction grossly inaccurate due to his ability to go off-road on this desolate place, "we're not stopping now". The other four all prepared themselves as much as they could in that time; Sonic was trying to remember every move Seraph had made against him in his last battle, Shadow was toying with the red emerald to plan how he could call his Chaos attacks – Seraph appeared to be protected from direct assault, but there should be nothing to stop him warping behind him and getting the element of surprise. Amy was relaxing as much as she could in the fraught atmosphere; she wanted to be at the peak of her abilities when crunch time came. However, unknown to the other four, Knuckles was going through the most vigorous preparation of all. The echidna was husbanding his power, summoning it almost to the point of no return then reining it in again. Though outwardly it looked like he was meditating his mind was actually buzzing, remembering all that had brought them to this and his own, unwitting part in the bargain. All these thought collided like a pack of shuffling cards, each random flicker of consciousness hammering against the others until each found its place, allowing him to harness his inner strength and then, eventually, garner him the ability to call it forth at a moment's notice.

Though he was by far and away more than competent at most aspects of his trade, it was at infiltration that Seraph truly proved he was the master. The vampire bat was as silent as the grave as his camouflage blended him into the darkness, the gift of echolocation allowing him to assess the way ahead for potential threats and devices that may have reported his presence to his target. It was clear, this region of the mines looked untouched; obviously his previous activities had done well in focusing the target's attention away from expanding his domain to clearing the rubble from his base. There, up ahead there was a glimmer of light and, yes, the tools his target favoured. No weapons, these were obviously simple workers, toiling like termites for their bloated king. The former guilder wondered if they contained surveillance equipment but took no chances either way; keeping close to the rough wall of the hollowed out tunnel, the bat waited until the pair had turned their backs to him before ghosting past, finding his place in another patch of shadow as he went one step closer to his goal. He remembered the way to his final destination with precision; there was a quarter of a kilometre of ground left to cover, no more, before he could signal the assault.

Tails veered off the road again after a grunted warning, he was driving with every ounce of control he had to take the most direct route to the tracker Rouge had ingested. So far, since the last movement, it had remained stationary on his map but that didn't mean it was going to do so indefinitely. _Not long now_, the fox wiped one of his sweating palms on his knee before returning to grip the wheel, watching as more dirt flew up to spatter the front of the Tornado, _just stay still a little longer and we'll be there. Hold on Rouge_.

So close, he could almost sense the grudge ending like the memory of a sweet taste on his nerveless tongue. Seraph was in deep into the enemy territory; he had passed through poorly lit corridors and hugged the walls of wider expanses of rooms, avoiding the searching glare of cameras and motion detectors by striking the devices themselves with a small EMP device; again, like the WD40, this was a standard part of his armoury and had neutralised the scanning devices for precious seconds while he had moved past them. Now he used the EMP blaster again, knocking out a small camera as he dodged past it, coming into contact with a steel door. Not wasting any time, the Spyder was produced and shorted out the door code pad, leaving it to swing open quietly and let the assassin slip in. Yes, only two more rooms to enter before he could reach the goal he had set himself. As he swept the room he had entered with both eyes and sixth sense, he realised something had changed since he had visited last; there was a much more imposing and upgraded door barring his path and the large computer bank that had been dusty and decrepit last time was now humming merrily away, taking readings from a large plexi-glass capsule off to one side of the room.

Making a snap decision and checking the coast was clear Seraph sprinted into the lee of the computer bank for a better look. There was a figure in the capsule; a prisoner? No, he re-evaluated that last estimate as he read the inscription on the bottom of the capsule and correlated it to previous information he had hacked from his target's information systems. Interesting, but the delay was unproductive; he had to move forwards and the door would both take too long to crack open and be an immediate give away to his target. Looking upwards, Seraph saw his answer and dashed to the opposite wall, using his gecko-gripped gloves, elbows, knee and chest pads as well as his boots to cling to the wall and swiftly begin to climb up it.

As his journey began, so a second ended; warned by Tails' observations, all five would-be rescuers piled out of the Tornado, Tails immediately activating the inbuilt security features to dissuade any potential tampering. Amy took the lead, following the lap-top sized receiver unit until it locked on to the tracer. Excitement plain in her tone, she nodded in the indicated direction.

"This way, come on". She made to move out but was stopped by Sonic's hand on the back of her dress.

"No way sister", the blue blur demanded, "we're going to stick together for now; we assume Seraph's close and watching. He'll pick us off if we split up".

"Good thinking that hedgehog" Knuckles commented dryly as Tails finished his securing of the Tornado and returned with the two radios in his hands. Moving out as fast as possible, the pursuers closed on their goal, now mere hundreds of metres away.

There was a tiny clink as the last screw was removed from the air vent cover, followed by a slight squeak as Seraph pushed the grille on top of the vent itself. Easing himself into the air circulator itself, Seraph was able to squeeze through the vents into the next area he needed to go. It was a more round-the-houses way of getting to where he needed to go but this was less conspicuous and had less chance of discovery. After shuffling forwards for minutes at a time, his mask drew level with a second grille. Excellent, there was a direct route to his target location from here; he had to take the next left turn in the vents to reach it. As he dragged himself forwards elbow-lengths at a time, Seraph thought ahead to what to do next when he had sounded the advance and attained his hiding place. As his strategy became sounder, he reached the turning he needed and began to ease himself round, twisting like an eel in the narrow passageway to allow himself to complete the turn. Mere hundreds of metres separated him from the end of his quest.

"So this is it huh?" Sonic looked at the hole in the ground with a mixture of apprehension and distaste as Knuckles clambered over the fence surrounding the forgotten mine shaft. One look told the echidna all he needed to know.

"He was here, the ground's loose and soil's disturbed".

"That and the fact there's a truck over there" Amy pointed out, causing the others to squint a little.

"I thought that was a mirage". Sonic admitted before giving his attention to the hole again.

"According to this, she's almost directly below us", Tails tapped the screen, regarding the hole almost hungrily, "but I don't know how far this goes".

"Right", Knuckles had heard enough and lowered himself onto his hands and knees, "give me a radio; I'll climb down and radio up how far down it is". Amy stepped forwards and looped the radio cord around Knuckle's neck, whispering good luck as she did so. Just as he was about to start the climb, Tails took the red Chaos emerald from Shadow and stepped forwards, pro-offering the jewel to the guardian.

"Take this to see down there; you might be in love with a bat but you can't see like one". Knuckles swiped at the cocky kit before taking the emerald and stashing it in his glove.

"You better pray she never finds out you said that".

"Whatever", Sonic thrust a fist forwards, face more serious as he said gravely, "good luck man". Knuckles nodded, touched fists with the blue hedgehog and began to climb downwards, down into the darkness to find the light of his life.

Forwards, forwards and he was nearly clear of this last room before the one he wanted to get to; as he had suspected, this was the main control centre for this underground base, the heart of a foul subterranean cancer. Passing the last grille before he exited the room, his keen ears picked up the swinging of a metallic door and the resounding bang as it impacted on the wall behind it. Pausing for a moment, Seraph shuffled soundlessly backwards, putting his eyes to the grille for the final proof.

**Visual identification confirmed. Complete temporary objective.**

After pausing for a few more seconds, seeming to drink in his target with his covered eyes, Seraph set himself forwards again, elbows pulling for purchase to force his body ever nearer his hiding place. Soon he would wipe clean the grudge of seven years; before the day was done, the blood on his hands would be washed clean with the truth behind the murder he stood accused of.

Knuckles slid downwards into darkness, the damp, musty smell of the earth around him more sandy and arid than the soil of his Angel Island. He kept a meticulous count of the number of hand lengths he had taken; it was a rough estimate that there was one foot per handhold. That was probably a tad too high but far better to overestimate than underestimate distances. He kept such focus that the feel of solid ground beneath his feet nearly made him yelp. He had counted thirty so quickly switched the radio to send as he flipped out his Chaos emerald, the ruddy red light suffusing the passageway as he turned around.

"It's about thirty feet down Tails; if you start airlifting I'll…" There was a long pause, the radio falling away from temporarily nerveless lips as the full sight of what was in front of him, "…oh my God, _Rouge!"_


	17. The Guild Reunited

Chapter 15 – The Guild Reunited.

She was stood ahead of him, silhouetted against the sudden light of the Chaos emerald, turning slowly to face this new light. Knuckles was temporarily paralysed with horror; he had mentally prepared himself for the sight of that hideous metallic insect splayed on her head but, standing here, less than twenty feet from her, he couldn't tear his eyes away from how it had stung into the back of her neck, the tail stiffly running down to sink into her skin. As she finished her turn, Knuckles let out a low moan as her face became visible. Her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes were glazed over, only half open and she was moving with the clumsy grace of a sleepwalker; he doubted she had any control over her movements. The Chaos emerald clattered to the floor as freezing slush flooded the echidna's stomach and bowels, shock stealing the breath from his lungs and the strength from his muscles as his knees threatened to collapse. His vision swam as he realised she was armed and slowly bringing one of her pistols upwards to meet his eyes; he doubted, shocked as he was, he'd be able to dodge the bullet she would fire so closed his eyes to await the inevitable.

The brain box realised that the unidentified presence was close to the area it had been instructed to guard with the host. Utilising the appropriate connections to the brain of its host, the mind-enslaving unit orchestrated the pre-programmed procedure.

He wasn't dead; there was no bang, no pain, nothing. Could the gun have malfunctioned? Peeking one eye open, the echidna realised his friend had just raised the gun at him; she didn't actually have her finger on the trigger. This was simply a warning; come no closer. Letting out a deep, relieved breath, Knuckles was dimly aware of the radio in his hands sparking and lifted it slowly back up, never taking his eyes off the familiar stranger in front of him.

"Knuckles, Knuckles come in, please" Shadow was speaking slowly into the radio and waiting seconds for a reply before repeating himself, panic beginning to tinge even his normally steady voice. Sonic paced before throwing his arms up.

"Right, Tails give me a lift down; we'll figure out what's going on". The kit nodded and began twisting his tails, Amy offering a plea of good fortune, when the radio emitted a thankfully familiar voice.

"Guys, listen", there was a collective relief of tension as they heard Knuckles speak; if he could talk he must have been alive and well, "it's about thirty foot deep but don't come down, not yet". Shadow clicked to receive and replied.

"Reading you Knuckles; what's wrong?" Down in the darkness, Knuckles gave a nervous chuckle and wiped the sweat from his brow as he thought how best to break the news.

"There's a problem". Sonic grabbed the receiver and sighed,

"That's obvious; where's Rouge?"

"About twenty feet in front of me, holding a pistol aimed right between my eyes", Sonic nearly dropped the radio as the implications of that sank in, but before he could answer the guardian continued, "she's being controlled by one of those things Tails showed us. I don't think she'll shoot but if you lot suddenly turn up I can't guarantee that'll remain the case". The line went dead as Tails wrung his hands, face frustrated.

"Great, she's almost within touching distance and we can't get to her; it's a Mexican stand-off".

"Good analogy; give me that", Amy demanded, pointing to the radio; as soon as Sonic handed it over, she spoke down it, "just take it easy Knucks, we'll wait up here until you say otherwise, cool?"

"Okay, be ready to go when I say; oh yeah, tell Sonic and Shadow not to try and run it down; the ground's too uneven to stop them turning an ankle or breaking a leg. Knucks out". The radio went dead and all four looked at each other, not sure what to say until Tails sat down suddenly remarking,

"May as well get comfortable; not telling how long this could last". Unfortunate as it was, this was the truth and there wasn't anything they could do to avoid it; settling as best they could to avoid the sun, all four rescuers waited for the radio to sound with baited breath.

Exit vents. Enter temporary objective. Signal to tools to advance.

He kept a tight hold on the grille as he unfastened it from the inside; if it feel to the ground it would alert his target despite the thick sheet metal door between the two adjoining rooms. Seraph lifted the loose grille into the vent itself and then slid it along, giving himself room to slip his upper body out of the vent shaft. Having accomplished this, he flipped himself fully free, using his wings to lessen the fall to the bare floor. Checking his progress had gone unreported, the assassin beheld his goal; a seemingly useless pipeline leading upwards to a different section of the mine area. The sliding door operated by proximity sensor; it slid open as he approached, allowing him to see the interior of its design. It was a lift, as simple as that, but once the door had been closed and the big red button pressed, there would be no way to open the lift shaft from the outside. He entered, completing his objective as the door slid shut behind him like a coffin lid closing; quite an apt analogy for the dead Mobian who walked. He was in place, there was no way to escape for his target; it was time to end this. Clenching his left hand, Seraph lifted it to his lips and spoke the final code word.

"Exculpate".

In the grim confines of this miserable place, five receivers understood the order and willed five slaves to obey the programme Seraph had installed into them.

Knuckles' eye narrowed as Rouge seemed to jerk as though pulled by an invisible wire; her dance dictated by an unseen puppet master. Without a glance back at him the bat took off, her sudden burst of speed taking the echidna by surprise; he lost sight of her as she sped away. Taking a split second decision, the echidna speeded up to follow her, adrenaline pumping through him as he relayed his decision to the others.

"She's moving; come down now. I'm following her. Out". Dropping the radio to fall back around his neck, the echidna ran on. As the run stretched into minutes, Knuckles found his breath coming quick and fast; deep in the wild, untamed part of his nature the guardian prayed she would lead him to Seraph. There would be no mercy for the assassin – he had hurt those the echidna loved and for that there was hell to pay.

The bottom of the shaft was left deserted, lit only by the ruby glow of the fallen red emerald. Maybe this was just as well; by it's light Tails was able to pick out the floor of the mine and safely drop his passengers from the height of a couple of feet, shortening the trips down by several minutes. Shadow was the first down and helped to catch the other three, keeping his eyes to the end of the passageway the whole time in case of a surprise attack. When none arrived and all were present, Sonic grabbed the receiver and took a single glance.

"This way" he pointed and started down the route plotted by his little brother's receiving unit, keeping his speed down to avoid Amy and Tails dropping behind; being separated could prove fatal if Seraph had planned any surprises on this assault course. The rough terrain underfoot didn't help either as it threatened to turn ankles or trip the unwary, especially as the Chaos emerald Shadow held now provided the only light. On they ran, dogging the heels of their wayward friends.

The code word had opened the last ream of code Seraph himself had written; though long and complex, taking into account meticulous details such as what constituted an active threat and the difference between an organic and inorganic life-form, it basically boiled down to the following instructions:_ Follow the pre-programmed route. Utilise the material in host's hands to neutralise any inorganic active threats in the way._ Rouge therefore unknowingly raced on, the helmet controlling her to get to the objective with all haste. Suddenly, two beings were registered up ahead; instructing her arms, the spy was forced to snap off some shots from her pistols, the two bullets tearing through the metal like it was thin tin and destroying the robots completely. Vaulting over the smoking remains, she pressed on relentlessly.

Knuckles heard the two shots and grimaced; he knew it couldn't have been any of his friends, so who had Rouge fired at? Could she have thrown off the control Seraph had over her and used his weapons against him? He grinned ferally; if that was the case that would surely be poetic justice at its most sweet. He swung round the corner and skidded to a halt; there was light up ahead of him, but that was impossible, there couldn't be any light down here. Walking forwards now, mind trying to process this information, the echidna saw what Rouge's targets had been and felt his jaw drop; in front of him lay the tatters of a pair of robots and as he saw the grinning logo on a scrap of metal, he grunted in astonishment. _Badniks_, Knuckles shook his head, _Sonic was right_. He pushed himself up, wanting to continue the pursuit of the one he really cared for but as a low, piercing alarm filtered the air towards him and the light ahead of him was polluted by crimson, Knuckles heard his name being shouted from behind him.

"Over here".

_I swear, if this is another glitch in the alarm system I'm going to rip the cameras out of this base_. Muttering bad-temperedly under his full moustache, Julian Ivo Robotnik, a man more commonly known and reviled as Doctor Eggman, shut down the program he'd been debugging and moved his cursor over the computer icon that would allow him to see the very outskirts of this hole in the ground through the eyes of his many security cameras. It was bad enough that he'd been humbled into retreating to this decrepit pit by the treachery of one of own creations, the deadly Metal Sonic, but even he hadn't expected the situation to be so dire. The place looked like it had partially crumbled to dust; there had been passageways blocked off by rock falls and many of the robots he'd designed to keep the place ticking over had simply run down over the years as water had polluted and shorted out their recharge ports. It had taken him the better part of the four months he'd been here to get the place in working order and he'd had little time to even consider his next move against his accursed nemesis. Still, it wasn't all bad; he had been able to create a few more badniks to bolster the base defences but still he had only fifty or so machines; much too few for his liking. In his precarious position, the most precious advantage he had was the fact that this old base of his was concealed and mostly forgotten about; a place to lick his wounds and put new plots into motion. _At least I would if this place would give me a few minutes peace without a false alarm every ten seconds_ he thought as he clicked the camera views open.

Sonic had heard Knuckles' shout and speeded up a little, the distance not being as great as he'd feared as he was quickly able to pull up to origin of the shout and the whistle that had followed it.

"Hey Knucks, what's the stats and…", the hedgehog's voice died as his echidna friend pointed at the shells of the two destroyed robots, "what, are those badniks?"

"Yeah", Knuckles looked Sonic square in the eye and gave tight, grim smile, "you were right Sonic; Seraph must be in league with Eggman, how else would he know about this place?"

"If that's the case", both turned to see Tails, Amy and Shadow illuminated by the red light ahead of them all, "why are those badniks destroyed? If they're working together why would Seraph trash his partner's toys?" Tails knelt besides the scraps of metal and his brows knitted, shaking his head and standing again.

"These are basic guys", the fox pointed to the comparatively crude construction of the robot's interior as he explained, "these badniks are nowhere near as sophisticated as those Eggy's built recently. If I was to give a guess, I'd say these were five years old".

"This doesn't make any sense – if Seraph's working for the egg why would he take this place for a base?"

"Just that fact, it's old", Sonic had a knowing smile on his face as several puzzle pieces slotted home flawlessly, "this place is probably one of Eggy's old hangouts and he's gifted it to his pet killer. For services rendered as it were".

"No I don't think that's right", Amy turned to Knuckles as she made her hammer visible, "Rouge did this didn't she?"

"Yeah, she had a pair of pistols and I heard a pair of shots".

"Right; Rouge is being controlled by Seraph and therefore he ordered her to do this on purpose. This is a deliberate attack Seraph's set up here. I think there's something else going on that we don't know about", Amy made to set off, "and only one person can tell us what it is". From further inside the cave complex there was a stuttering burst of fire; that was no pistol. As one, the remaining heroes launched themselves forwards through the crimson light; plot or no plot, there was a danger to one of their own and they could not turn away, no matter the odds.

This was no glitch; Eggman gripped the edge of the computer terminal hard with his free hand as he saw three of his badniks literally ripped in half by a volley of gunfire, the camera picking out a large shape concealed in the darkness before it was shut down by a bullet. The doctor swore out loud, shifting to a different camera and a more immediate threat; from what he could make out his base had been discovered and was being attacked from at least three separate angles. His forces were being destroyed as he hadn't been able to order them into battle fast enough to cope with the flow of information – even with an IQ of 300 he wasn't able to do everything at once. He'd have to leave soon, but he was going to get look at his enemy first. He quickly logged into a camera set up behind a hairpin bend, there was no chance of his enemy destroying it before he could get a good eyeful. The camera next in sequence suddenly became a screen of static; it wasn't going to take long. As a figure rounded the bend and snapped of a few pistol shots at a retreating badnik the doctor curled his lip; it was strangely unimpressive. Apparently he was being pursued by a mouse; the Mobian was wielding a pair of pistols and…wait! His hand shot towards the zoom button but before he could trigger it, the Mobian raised a single gun and the screen blanked out, cheating him of a clear cut diagnosis. From what he had seen however he had an inkling of something dark occurring; he couldn't be sure but for a second he had been suspicious that one of his discontinued projects was being used against him. _It was used only once, how could anyone know, unless_… The doctor shook his head – this was neither the time nor the place to court inconceivability's. The game was up; it was either flee or be captured and he had a reputation for being uncatchable that he had no longing to spoil.

Shadow swerved and headed down another passage, not racing but aware that Sonic was level with him. The further they had progressed the more obvious it had been that Eggman had created this place; the high reliance on mechanics and an overabundance of steel helping confirm Sonic's former suspicions. As he ran, the black hedgehog suddenly began to feel more comfortable; looking up he saw the way he'd run so often before, often racing down here to beat old records. This was it; had to hit the turn just right or he'd lose nanoseconds of time. Pushing forwards, Shadow planted both feet in the steel floor and leapt to the right, making to speed down the right to his destination. There was a strange crunching noise as his memory was splintered by pain.

"Shadow!" Sonic pulled up as his peripheral vision recorded the black hedgehog's sudden careening into the right hand wall. Screeching to a halt, Sonic turned and saw the others were approaching, heading towards the lain out Shadow. He managed to get there ahead of them and kneel beside the recovering midnight hedgehog, helping him into a sitting position as the others clustered round, perturbed at their friends sudden out of character act. Leaning down, Sonic clamped a hand around Shadow's bleeding nose and heard the black hedgehog mumble something; leaning closer and having an idea what this was about as he chided gently.

"Hey Shadow, what was that, I didn't hear you".

"No right", the black hedgehog was momentarily disorientated; he definitely remembered the way to go; what had changed, "there should be a right turn". Meeting the eyes of the others, Amy took hold of the dazed hedgehog's hand and spoke soothingly.

"Shadow, listen to my voice. Why should there have been a right turn there – what do you remember?" Shaking his head to try and blow out some of the cobwebs he answered.

"I, I used to run like that, I ran to beat my record, but, but it was different", looking around, he put a hand to his head as he took in the rough wall enclosing him, and the feeling of cold earth, rather than cool steel, beneath his body, "it was metal, all of it; no earth, and the light was brighter then".

"You had a new memory", Knuckles was a tremendous person but any one of his friends would have freely admitted tact was not his strongest point, "take a minute to rest; Amy and Tails stay with him, Sonic and I will go on". Tails made to look up at the echidna but his eyes fell on something far more interesting.

"Hold it a sec Knucks", the fox quickly moved forwards to the computer terminal and flicked it open, ignoring the leering logo of the mad doctor it portrayed as he began to hack into the mainframe, "maybe I can crack this and get a clearer picture of what's going on; no sense in going in unprepared right?" There was a shaking of heads and Sonic gave a thumbs-up.

"Go for it bro, break that sucker good". The fox gave a slight bow before turning and hammering the keys in a graceful dance of trickery as he tried to prise open the security system.

His forces were decimated and his base was pretty much a ruin anyway; time to be gone Eggman concluded, pushing away from the console he was seated at. He didn't hurry unduly as he had already made plans for this kind of eventuality; a touch of paranoia went well for a future dictator of Earth. Someone, he noted with annoyance, was trying to hack their way into his computer memory banks but he didn't have any time to stop them and besides, if they found anything worth having in that old relic they deserved it. Standing up, he felt the familiar pangs of disappointment resurface as he realised he had been defeated yet again but, as always, he refused to give in to despair; he would win someday, just not today. Turning away from the computer banks, he opened the door to his escape route.

Tails gave a bark of triumph as he finally hammered down the ageing fire walls; the whole of Eggman's mainframe was his to command. What to look for first though; he decided to try and get visual contact with anyone and quickly brought up the cameras section. Most of them were blown out completely, but a few still functioned and, wait, that shape was unmistakeable. Excitement bubbling in his voice the fox shouted,

"Guys, come look at this". As the others crowded round he gave the camera full screen. Sonic tensed at the sight of his most hated enemy walking towards a door set back.

"Eggy, so this is a base of his for sure".

"Yeah, but", the screen changed as Tails clicked into a second camera into the room Eggman had just entered; Shadow saw the device at the far end and gave a savage snarl, "he's gonna get away".

"Forget him, all that matters now is Rouge, we'll hunt Eggman down some other time". Knuckles assured the others before he realised they weren't listening; there was a collection of gasps as they all stood transfixed by the screen. Flicking it a glance Knuckles immediately saw why; soundlessly, he also joined the paralysed watchers.

Eggman moved quickly as the sound of gunfire reached his ears; he had almost left it too long and would have to move fast to avoid them. Sliding the door shut behind him, the evil genius moved towards his last invention and the sanctuary it offered; he gave a brief mutter of thanks that he hadn't installed any kind of password or number code to any of his escape routes, the delay in opening them could have proved fatal. He kept his eye on the door he had just come through, hearing the door to his haven slide open, guiding the way to his release as he…

Pain exploded in his lower regions as a crippling strike landed, bringing tears to his eyes as he grabbed himself and fell, his knees turning to water as he fought to keep his consciousness from slipping away due to sheer pain. Something grabbed his moustache and forced his head down, his chin slamming into something as solid and unyielding as the rock his base was carved in. This fresh impact sent the doctor sprawling backwards, falling flat on his back as his brain, unused to such abuse, blocked out the pain with shock, unable to comprehend being violated in this way. Clearing the tears from his eyes, Eggman looked up and felt the blood drain away from his face, his pain replaced by utter disbelief as someone from seven years ago stared facelessly back at him.

"No, no, you, you're dead!"

Repay the grudge.

Despite the loathing they all held the not-so-good doctor in for various reasons the sight of Seraph's first kick had four pairs of eyes watering in agonised sympathy. As it became obvious that strike had just been a precursor to the main event Tails abruptly broke the connection and headed down the tunnel to the doctor's current position.

"Come on; I never though I'd say it but we've got to save Eggman", before arguments could be raised the fox continued, "Seraph's there; he'll be able to get us to Rouge". That was all the encouragement the others needed; Shadow and Sonic scooped up Amy and Tails and took off towards where their enemies were destroying each other. The case led them to the room with the capsule and, more importantly, the door that had recently been kicked off its hinges by a pair of solid kicks. There was a flash of white visible in the gloom beyond and Knuckles accelerated as much as was possible; pulling past the other two, the echidna was the first to enter the main control room and observe the pandemonium within.

Two figures were currently at the door, striking the solid metal construction with kicks and gun butts as they tried to progress. Knuckles wanted to help desperately but forced himself to hold back; _that isn't Rouge_, he forced himself to repeat the thought over and over. She was now under the complete control of an alien force that he had no comprehension of; from the evidence they had so far gathered and postulated, Seraph had been allied with Eggman but they'd all just seen that, if such an allegiance had ever existed, it had just been most painfully terminated. There was a crash from off to the right and Knuckles was able to see a third stranger enter.

"Whoa"; Sonic's voice was in his ear as the Mobian became visible; from what they could see this monster was in the same league as Big in terms of sheer weight and power, holding the gun in his hands like it was nothing. As he advanced unerringly towards the door currently under assault by Rouge and the rooster the five had assumed was Razzy, all could see this creature was again in Seraph's thrall; there was a clearly visible metal tail descending from the bandana the fox wore. Knuckles felt a tug on his arm and shot a glance to see Tails pawing at him; standing on tip-toe, the fox whispered in his ear.

"I think that's Chalkie, look at his coat". Looking harder, the echidna was able to see that there was a definite pattern on the course fur that covered the figure's back. The lighter patches of fur ran in specific patches that flowed together in a ginger pattern of light orange and light cream. A dull boom rang out as the latest arrival reached the door and used the end of his gun to hammer into it, the structure beginning to buckle under the weight of the heavy blows being levelled against it. None of the free willed Mobians present dared intervene; there was no guaranteeing their safety in the ruck and it seemed that Seraph's zombies needed little help in their task as it was.

The door was nearly caved in; it was time to finish this. Delivering another solid punch to the small of his target's back, Seraph kept his eyes trained on the door; the human at his feet had been no match for him. Eggman was in a terrible way; he wasn't built for physical combat and Seraph had quite literally ripped the living hell out of him; there wasn't an inch of his body that hadn't been crushed by dark vengeance. Hopping backwards behind the slumped over figure, Seraph contended himself to wait for the arrival of his secondary targets; he, and the bleeding man at his feet, owed them a debt of explanation for his previous actions.

As the door finally crashed off its hinges there was a collective jerk forwards; Sonic and his friends rapidly followed as Rouge and the other suspected guild members filed through the battered doorway. Knuckles was at the forefront of the group as it entered; all that filled his vision was Seraph and he pointed a deadly knuckle barb at his enemy, breathing harshly through flared nostrils as battle rage began to rise.

"You are a dead Mobian".

Unexpected but not impossible; Knuckles Echidna skilled at tracking. Other innocents also present. No grudges borne – no conflict. Delay potential for battle.

Despite the invitation, it appeared Seraph had other plans than fighting; like a cobra, his hand darted down and seized Eggman by the collar, hoisting him upright. As the human's face became visible Knuckles snarled,

"Guess nothing changes; still beating up those that can't defend themselves".

"What do you…". Knuckles snorted disdainfully as Seraph wrapped his other arm around Eggman's neck; it would only take a single twist to finish him now. It would be impossible to try and fight Seraph now; the echidna was under no impression he'd kill without compassion and he for one didn't want a death on his hands. Not looking round, he casually cut off Amy's question.

"Rouge showed me a picture when she first arrived on my place", he addressed his enemy directly now, "it was the result of one of his missions; a beaten up wolf. It convinced me to let her stay". Knuckles felt the tensions of those behind him raise as he exposed this crime of Seraph, though there was no reaction from the assassin himself; he appeared to have shut himself off completely. There was a strangled cough from his knees as Eggman recovered his scattered wits and hastily reviewed the situation. He had no time and fewer options, so he grasped at the last straw he had and made the only choice available to him.

"Help…me", the doctor gave a pitiful wince as Seraph cut the grip even tighter, "please, he'll kill me".

"Why?", Shadow looked piercingly at the beaten human; from what he could remember and had been told, Eggman was a dangerous enemy and as slippery as oil, "what's the story Eggman; why's Seraph after you?" The doctor's shoulders sagged in defeat; that question was the end of it all. Before he could even consider a response, there was a jerk at his neck as his current captor growled in his ears. Looking forwards, he saw the end was coming ever closer.

Amy felt the horrid suspicion of something, or someone, creeping up behind her and spun round, hammer held high as she confronted her would-be back stabber.

"Nack?" The pink hedgehog squeaked as the purple weasel approached, a mouse also just visible behind him, coming through the door she and her friends had used to get to the main control room. She rapidly tapped the others as Nack approached; she realised he wasn't going to stop and she had seen what the others had done to the last thing that had got in their way. Tapping Sonic on the shoulder, she managed to get them both out of the way and allow the zombified guild member entrance into this area. Nack moved clear of the door, standing near to the other three guild members with a pop-gun held loosely in his hands, rigid as a board as Eggman gave another low moan. As the mouse entered, Seraph stirred.

All secondary targets present. Utilise innocents. All debts end here.

Knuckles hadn't taken his eyes off the assassin at any time, even when Nack had entered the

room, and suddenly his caution paid off. Seraph's free hand, his left, suddenly shot forwards, something small flying towards the echidna. Knuckles fired up his guard, closed his eyes and opened his mouth, trying to avoid the worst of any grenade his enemy may have employed. There was a tiny clink as something landed at his feet and, as everyone looked down, a single word, in the same dead, dry voice from the Tornado, reached their ears.

"Drop".

As Seraph whispered the command there was a sudden clatter as assorted weapons fell to the ground, the imprisoned Mobians relinquishing their arms as their master ordered. Knuckles looked at the tiny metal sliver at his feet and slowly knelt to pick it up. Looking up, the guardian was confused as Seraph pointed to where his peons were clustered and then tapped the back of his head with a free hand, the other maintaining a constricting grip on Eggman's neck. Suddenly Knuckles understood; moving carefully and ignoring the questions of the others, the echidna made something very plain indeed.

"If you lie, this will be your tomb" he said at Seraph, who seemed to nod in assent.

"What are you doing?"

"Just trust me" Knuckles said shortly, praying that his own concerns would prove unfounded as he reached Rouge. When she didn't move or react to his presence, the guardian moved to be behind her, scrutinising the back of the unholy unit Seraph had placed on her, checking the key Seraph had thrown to him. There, a tiny hole at the side of the tail entrance; taking a deep breath and casting his eyes heavenwards, the echidna slowly inserted the metal twig into the hole.

The reaction was instant; the neural fibres that had entered though the hypodermic tail of the thing were retracted by the insertion of the key. It acted to completely reverse the process of mind control, restoring free will to the target. This function had been added by Seraph; the original designer of the device had never planned to release anyone he managed to ensnare. As the tail retracted and the implant fell to the floor with a dull clunk, before seven pairs of shocked eyes, Rouge returned to her body.

There was a low groan and suddenly the bat slumped forwards, her head pounding as she grappled with feelings of extreme disorientation. She would have fallen had it not been for Sonic's timely intervention, the blue wonder catching her and settling her onto her knees. The spy screwed her eyes shut before lashing out; she had no memories beyond those of fighting Seraph and was acting on them. Dodging the drunken strikes and catching her slim wrists, Sonic spoke clearly as the others watched on in wonderment.

"Rouge, Rouge listen; it's okay, we're all here, stop fighting". He felt the bat's struggles lessen as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah, yeah it's me", he held her gaze as she tried to focus on him, "take your time and breathe slowly; you're safe now".

"What happened?" Using the blue hedgehog as a pad Rouge lurched to her feet and swayed, mind still foggy but beginning to clear as she saw the others were approaching; she also caught sight of the motionless Seraph, holding onto Eggman like a stationary statue, and leapt back with an adrenaline surge, narrowly missing careening into Knuckles, "And what's he doing here?" she demanded, pointing at him as though her finger could stab her captor dead on the spot.

"It's okay, he's, he's not going to hurt you", Tails said to calm the bat down; he actually wasn't sure what Seraph was doing and how Eggman was involved but he still wanted to calm the bat down, "from what we can tell he's done all this; are these the other…"

"The guild; how did they get here, and what happened to them?" The bat was shocked as she realised they were completely unreactive to her and the others. Amy pushed in front of Sonic and Tails, giving a sign behind her back.

"The same thing that happened to you; listen, go outside for a minute and Knuckles'll explain what we know, alright?" Before either could argue, Shadow had caught on and nodded.

"Yeah; if you do that, we'll get the others free and send them out to you". The black hedgehog skilfully snatched the key from Knuckle's hand as the guardian, having at last seen through the trick too late, extended his hand to her.

"Come on Rouge, let's get out of here". Shakily gripping the hand of her formerly dangerous adversary, the bat was led from the scene as Shadow advanced purposely to the motionless form of Nack the Weasel.

Presence of innocents useful; secondary targets released and restrained when necessary. Confusion evident, the information shall wait until all are ready.

_I'm a dead man_, Eggman had glanced up at the mask of his former servant and realised this was it; there was no coming back from this. Even if, by some miracle, Seraph actually decided to spare his life he would definitely be handed over to the authorities to rot in jail for the rest of his life. From what he could tell this had been an extremely elaborate and convoluted plot to trap him, but why was he still alive and why was Seraph having those damned Mobians from the guild released? The black mask he occasionally glimpsed in his vision betrayed nothing and at the end Eggman was able to draw a foregone conclusion; _Like father, like son._

It took a while, but eventually all five of the former Guild of Treasure Hunters were released and the situation was explained to the best of Knuckles' ability, though as he admitted himself, that was not too clearly at all. The echidna's voice was getting hoarse from all the talking he was doing, especially as he had to restart the story every time a new arrival joined his impromptu story circle. As he finished for the third time, the hulking Mobian who had confirmed his identity as Chalkie spoke, his voice surprisingly soft for such a big creature.

"So the freak's been hunting us all, but for how long?"

"No idea, but I saw the mark at Jess's and the guild photo was there too", Nack spoke to his old friend, "he'd cut out you three, so I assumed you'd been taken". The rooster clucked low in his throat.

"I think I was taken first; I remember the day clearly, it was the fourteen of June, what's the date today?"

"The twenty-fifth of July" came Tails' disembodied voice; he, Sonic, Amy and Shadow were still in the last room, keeping a close eye on Seraph and Eggman, though the dark angel didn't appear to be doing much apart from waiting for them to make the first move. The mouse who had introduced herself as Jessie Wheatear, or Jess, nodded,

"So I'd have been taken about what, eight days ago and you and the rookie", Rouge scowled at the diminutive figure,

"I resent that remark; I'm a fully qualified treasure hunter now".

"No run, no rank", the mouse grinned up at her before continuing, "would have been had three and two days respectively". Chalkie grunted before bringing himself to full height, his shadow engulfing the rest of the group as his face darkened.

"It doesn't matter now; the guild hasn't finished its business yet – there's the small matter of a freakoziod in there to deal with". At the mention of Seraph Knuckles observed a change in all five treasure hunters, specified by Nack leaning forwards, looking surprisingly smaller with his hat off. The weasel spoke straight from the heart,

"I say we hear what he's got to say and if it's not good enough we go for it; we hand in both of them and split the money".

"Money?" Rouge smiled sardonically as the others looked agog.

"Yeah, there's a bounty on Eggman's head but whatever, we'll deal with that later", the bat held out one hand, glancing round at the others, "we hand them in, no more death". Razzy put his wing on the bat's extended hand.

"I'll swear on that". Chalkie, Nack and finally Jess added their hands to the pile when another voice spoke.

"Count me in too", Knuckles placed his mighty paw on the top of the pile and smiled grimly at the others, "I've got enough reason to want them both dead, but I'm sick of fighting; no more death". All six swore and then removed their hands, Razzy speaking first,

"So let this be the end", he set off towards the yawning doorframe, the battered metal door lying crushed on the other side, "the Guild of Treasure Hunters ends now".

They are here.

No-one spoke as the five and Knuckles entered; for a second you could have cut the air with a knife before Nack stepped forwards, Seraph's mask rising to meet his approach.

"Okay Seraph", the weasel looked his personal devil levelly in the eye, "you caught us and brought us here. We were helpless and you let us all go; we want to know why, and what that lard-ball's got to do with it". Eggman whimpered pathetically as Seraph dragged him onto his knees.

"Everything", those unfamiliar with Seraph's voice glanced around to try and see the hissing serpent before realising he had spoken and now looked down at his primary target before finishing.

"Tell them".


	18. The Truth Hurts

A Few Home Truths.

There was only one person present who actually understood what Seraph meant by that and much as he didn't want to admit it, he had no choice; an arm around the neck was a great incentive to be truthful, especially when you knew for a fact the mind controlling the arm was more than ruthless enough to snap your neck like a twig without a second thought. Heaving a deep breath into his tortured lungs, Eggman looked up at them all, his eyes strangely maroon as his normal black glasses had been smashed by a blow to the nose.

"I had just discovered about the Chaos emeralds and had caught my first glimpse of you and your meddling fox helper", the fallen dictator snarled at Sonic before an ungentle tap on the top of his bald head informed the doctor in no uncertain terms it was time to carry on, "but I was unsure of what exactly to do; I wanted to ensure potential rivals didn't catch up to my level of technology, but at the same time wanted the best scientists to work for me, indirectly at least; I wasn't stupid enough to reveal myself, so I had to go behind the scenes. On top of all that there was this new potential of the Chaos emeralds. I had a lot of options on my plate, so I decided to use them all".

"I had one of my traditional brainwaves and came up with a suitably brilliant plan; I hacked into the government's computer systems, the firewalls were nowhere near what they are now, and I can still get through them like it's nothing. You should try it foxboy; it's the mark of a real programmer". Eggman smiled sickeningly as Tails as the fox shook his head, completely put off with the man's warped sense of brilliance.

"I use my skills for the good of all Eggman; knowing that's a better sense of satisfaction than anything you'll ever get".

"Typically heroic nonsense; you've been hanging around that moronic hedgehog for too long. A shame you weren't born earlier, I could have used you, argh", Seraph gripped a badly bruised portion of the maniac's shoulder, causing him to cry out and return to the story. Trying to fight down the residual ache Eggman continued,

"I got the info I needed; there were a large number of people out there I could use, but I wanted the best and I found them. A short while later, having decided the order I wanted things, I sent for you all". He pointed at all the treasure hunters bar Rouge, a smile on his face as Jessie narrowed her eyes.

"When was this?" Eggman leered forwards; he was going to die, so he was going to enjoy the last moments of his life by making others miserable, prolonging the torment.

"Nine years ago". The mouse took an involuntary step back, supported by one of Chalkie's massive paws as tears of horror started to form in her eyes. The fox-cat looked down at his smaller friend as concern rose in his now rumbling tone,

"What is it Jess?"

"He means", Razzy was looking squarely at the evil human as his intelligence allowed him to share Jess's insight, "that he got in touch with us and set us up royally", turning to face he others, tears unashamedly leaked from the roosters eyes as he clasped his hands, "don't you see; he planned it all; the guild, our missions, everything – he's the Benefactor".

There was a shocked silence as everyone looked at the rooster, the guild members themselves trying, trying desperately, to absorb this mind shattering information. Razzy was crying openly now, Jess was about to follow suit and Nack and Chalkie were looking at Eggman with potential murder in their eyes, the fox-cat unsheathing previously concealed cat claws with a growl. A low chuckle, dark and ominous, filled the air as Eggman saw the damage his statement had wrought.

"You mean…"

"Oh yes; I planned it all – you'll find a lot of people don't ask questions when you wave a large amount of money in their direction", the dictator looked from Amy Rose to the five guilders, a malicious grin on his bloodied lips, "how does it feel to know you've been working for the 'most evil man' in history, hmm?"

"The, the others, they paid us…" Jess tried to squirm out of this, tried to lessen the impact of this bombshell, but Eggman quashed the attempt.

"Assumed names; face it, for two years you were under me and me alone; all the stealing was done on jewels that could have been Chaos emeralds, the espionage destabilised any competition I felt under threat from and the hacking and other technological works were done to get information I wanted. You helped me immensely; without your help I'd probably never have been able to build the Death Egg". The madman chuckled until a chop to his wounded shoulder checked the noise with a shout of pain. Seraph had his target hush until the impact of these blows was absorbed by a small amount; he needed the others to be ready for this as it was probably going to hurt them again, especially Nack. The emotion of pity had long since been exercised from Seraph's cold soul but he understood the logic behind the wait. He needed all present to witness his vindication.

The overriding feeling in that small room was a feeling of violation; whatever could have been expected here this was about as far out of the bathtub as it was possible to get. Razzy and Jess were leaning on each other while Sonic and Shadow were gearing up to try and restrain Nack and Chalkie; if they had been mad before they were virtually incandescent with rage now. The weasel let out a snarl as Chalkie felt a small paw on his thigh; he clamed slightly as he saw a small fox say,

"Calm down big guy; there's nothing he can do to you now; he's at your mercy". The fox-cat went to one knee, looking Tails in the eyes and letting the kit see his elongated cat nose and brown eyes,

"Don' worry kid; gave me word not to kill, so I won't. 'Sides", Tails echoed the larger Mobian's smile, "looks like Seraph'll do that for us". As if the mention of his name had stirred him into action, the room fell silent again as the vampire bat again looked down on his helpless captive and uttered a second decree.

"And Seraph?"

Still high from his previous, if only fleeting, victory against the guild, Eggman made an uncharacteristic mistake; he answered the bat back.

"Surely you're in a better position to answer that than me?" The reaction was swift, final and extremely painful; one second Eggman was giggling deliriously, the next he was screaming in pain as just one of Seraph's hands had moved. Looking at what had happened more closely and the splash of colour now adorning Seraph's normally matt black leather, even Sonic couldn't help but shudder as he pieced together what had happened in the space of microseconds. One half of Eggman's trademark moustache, and a large portion of the skin of his upper lip, dangled in the assassin's hand as Eggman stopped blubbering at his repeated question.

"And…Seraph?" This time the words spilled out in a torrent; the last act had been enough to break whatever resistance the doctor had left.

"Seraph was a problem right from the start", Eggman sucked the blood from his lip before continuing desperately, "he always double checked targets, thought about things in triplicate and always, always wanted to know why he was doing the missions; you lot could have learnt a lot from him. But anyway", Eggman's desire to heap more misery on the guild was extinguished as he saw a black hand move out the corner of his eye, "he managed to track down who I was and he could have told you all. Well, I couldn't have that, not after all the good work you'd been doing for me, so I had to put my back up plans into action". The dictator fell silent; he was going to make them ask him what the plans had been and, it seemed, Seraph appeared content to let him have that privilege. When the question was asked though, it was from an unexpected source; Shadow, eyes almost burning crimson, looked ready to reduce Eggman to scrambled Eggman as he growled,

"And what were these plans of yours?"

"The same plans I use every time; if it isn't broke why fix it?" Eggman didn't dwell as Seraph had the back of his neck in an equivalent of the Vulcan death-grip and didn't seem afraid to increase the pressure, "I found something important to him and took it; ever wonder why I always kidnap rather than kill – it's so I can get people just where I want them".

"And what, what was Seraph's weakness?" Nack this time, curious as to what would govern the seemingly emotionless monster before him. Eggman rolled his eyes up as far as was possible in his position.

"You never did tell them, did you?" the increase in grip pressure was answer enough, "if any of you had bothered to do the research, you'd have realised that Seraph wasn't alone; he had a single member of his family left in the world. He had a son".

"I knew you were sick Robotnik", Sonic's eyes were jade stones as he spoke every word with menacing deliberation, "but taking kids is low, even for scum like you". The human gave a small shrug, as though such piffling things as morals were beneath him.

"Whatever gets results. My robots managed to take the little brat and leave a polite invitation; Seraph would show up, unarmed, if he wanted to get his son back. Just as well he did turn up, the little devil was far more trouble than it was worth. Sure enough, the idiot actually came and we made a deal; he'd field-test a piece of technology I'd developed and I'd give him his son back. The deal went smoothly, though I don't think he'd have been much of a father after the technology took hold, if you catch my drift". Amy saw the doctor's eyes move and followed them; her blood boiled as he saw what Eggman had meant. Before anyone could stop her she had thrown herself at the mad doctor, hammer arcing towards the dictator and cracking him directly in his bloated belly, stealing the breath from his lungs; if he hadn't been held up by Seraph he'd have collapsed. There was a cry of agony as the hedgehog screamed at him,

"You monster! You destroyed him. You took away that little boy's father. All of this is your fault. You, you…" she tailed off, tears streaming down her face as her anger went beyond the power of words. Aware of eyes on her, she stormed backwards and seized something from the floor, thrusting it skywards and she raged,

"This. Mind control; he used one of these on Seraph, he was nothing more than another robot". In her hands, tail dangling uselessly, was one of the fallen mind control units.

There was a few seconds of silence before ten pairs of eyes locked onto Eggman and he quailed as he saw violence in every single one of them.

"Is this true?" Knuckles was almost breaking his teeth from gritting them so hard, fists clenched as though Eggman's throat was caught in them. Startled by the ferocity of this, the human stuttered,

"Yes, that is what I did; I discontinued production when I saw they were imperfect – he could still fight against the control. He did that when the end came after you hunted him down; he didn't fight, just let himself go. I see you fixed the bugs?" The question was meant to deflect some of the wordless rage to Seraph; _after all_, Robotnik reasoned, _he used those things as well_, but it didn't work as Nack stared straight through him.

"So it was all your doing? You forced him to do the beat ups, and the murders beyond them…" the weasel fell silent suddenly, dread etched in his face as he realised what the human's words meant for him, "oh my God". He trembled as Razzy, cheeks still wet, nodded and put his hand on Nacks' shoulder, speaking quietly.

"It wasn't your fault Nack; none of us could have known".

"Doesn't matter", the guilder's voice was choked and strangled, "I shot an innocent man; he couldn't stop what he was doing. I'm a murderer", the others moved toward the weasel but stopped as he lowered his hands; his face was a mask of ire. Pointing a shaking finger at the man responsible for six deaths, murders he corrected himself, Nack spoke the honest truth.

"You better pray he kills you; I'll show you there are worse things than death". Robotnik had enough sense left to act ashamed as he spoke next.

"Yes, I used Seraph to do jobs I knew you wouldn't touch without getting suspicious. I knew you'd twig eventually but I decided to use it for as along as possible; I was just lucky he always wore that mask, it hid the unit. The killing was an accident…"

"No it wasn't", Sonic cut him off, "I've been fighting you for too long to not recognise you lying. Why?"

"Because the stupid woman wouldn't take a hint", the human had realised his last gamble had failed and decided to die as he had lived; full of spite and malice, "I'd tried bribes, money, threats and violence; I needed her work to get the particle accelerators for the Death Egg's main weapon systems online, but she wouldn't have it. The only choice was to make sure she couldn't get her research to others. Unfortunate, but I didn't have an optiaahhh". The grip on the back of his neck slammed on full, stopping him continuing as Seraph's blank face moved to see the others.

**Grudge settled. Pain repaid and secondary targets now aware of circumstances.**

Seraph looked over every single Mobian present and saw what he had expected in the face of each of them; anger at his primary target and shame mixed with forgiveness for him. As he finished his inspection, he was about to put his final plan into action but before he could, a voice stopped him; it was Chalkie, the fox-cat's eye truthful and sincere.

"Seraph", the eyes flicked down at the primary target, "kill him". He was backed up by Rouge; the bat had her fangs bared at Eggman and looked ready to rip his throat out, with her teeth if needs be.

"No-one here would condemn you if you did". Seraph looked around the ten faces and saw assent in every one, save a single one. Nack approached him, arms wide and eyes downcast.

"If you want me dead, I won't blame you. I killed the only one you had", before the others could ask, the weasel had answered without turning around, "you're not Seraph, I can see that now; he died in that apartment, seven years ago", looking up the weasel gave a strange, wistfully wise expression, "you're Seraph's son, aren't you?"

**No disadvantage in disclosing that information.**

"Yes", the voice never changed, not even when he pointed at Nack and then at the others, "there is no grudge". Rouge was able to figure it out first and whispered at him desperately,

"Nack, get over here; he doesn't want you".

"Is that really what you want?"

"There is no grudge". The weasel nodded and slowly shuffled backwards, mind numb as Seraph pointed directly at Knuckles; the guardian, for once, felt no rage at the emotionless form of the, wait, he wasn't a killer, or an assassin, or any of those terrible things. What was the son of Seraph, in comparison to the unwilling puppet his father had become to save his son's life?

"I owe you". The echidna shook his head,

"You owe me nothing".

"Unlawful trespass", he continued as though he hadn't heard the guardian, "property damage and theft. I owe you". The vampire bat looked down as though making a decision, after relieving his target of something that would help pay off his grudge; from the way both hands suddenly gripped Robotnik's head it appeared he had settled on vengeance. The human whimpered, pleading for help, but none was forthcoming as Seraph sank down to his level and hissed in his ear.

"It ends". There was a sudden twist and a wet, crunching noise as three things happened at once, starting with Eggman fainting.

The other Mobians present stood still; shocked by what had just happened even though they had been expecting it.

Seraph sprang backwards, propelling himself through the sliding door and hitting the activate button before he'd touched down. The lift shot upwards, taking him away from here, a grudge settled and a debt gained.


	19. Twin Acts of Courage

Chapter 17 – Twin Acts of Courage.

The last glimpse Rouge had of Seraph was just before the lift doors shut; he remained impassive even after this, he must have had a heart of ice not to show any emotion. However, there was the small matter of a dead body to deal with first; she noticed Shadow was gingerly approaching the slumped form of the once-mighty Eggman and smiled savagely; he was gone and he'd deserved nothing less. She gave her attention to where Nack was crying into Chalkie's chest, the fox-cat helping to comfort him with the help of Tails, Amy and Jess. _Poor guy; bad enough he carried a weight for seven years, then this_, her train of thought was derailed by Shadow calling,

"Guys, um, he's not dead".

"WHAT!"

"Look", Shadow leaned down and picked something up from the ground just behind the comatose murderer; it was an empty can of WD40, crushed beyond recognition by Seraph's boot for an appropriate sound effect. "He didn't kill him; he's left him for us to deal with. So, what should we do with him?"

"I'm all for leaving him down here".

"We should do this", Chalkie slid his deadly claws into the open, looking at the body with murderous intent, "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth".

"No, we can't kill like that".

"He did".

"No Chalkie", Nack's voice was still croaky, but his eyes were now focussed and determined, "we can't kill, we swore not to and I won't make the same mistake twice. We're handing him in". The fox-cat looked a little aggrieved before he saw the look in Nack's eyes; against emotion that powerful, even his strength was less than nothing.

"Fair enough, but I saw we get out of here and blow this place sky high".

"No, that'd be a bad idea", Tails chipped in, trying not to make the fox-cat feel bad but having to make his point known, "this whole place is riddled with tunnels, blow one and you could get the whole lot caving in. I'll wipe the computers on this place and make sure there's nothing of value left on the system, it's the best way. Besides, not like there's anything valuable in here, right?"

"Okay, then get to it", Chalkie strode easily over to Robotnik's comatose form and ripped off his bandana, "I'll get this fat beggar to the surface, but I'm not goin' to be gentle about it". Sonic thought for a second before slapping a paw to his face.

"That's a point, how are we going to find our way back to the mineshaft?"

"Already on it", Tails poked his head back round the door, "there's a map function on here; it'll show us how to get there".

"Print one off, I'll go on ahead and mark the path with metal; there's enough trashed badniks about. You can all catch up on the way back". Nack gave a bitter laugh,

"Catch up, with what; we've just found out the most deranged individual this world has ever known just played us for suckers for two years and an innocent Mobian died because of it. If only I'd seen sense earlier". The weasel fell silent as Chalkie straightened up, Eggman trussed like a Christmas turkey and slung casually over one brawny shoulder.

"We'll deal with this later; it's been a terrible shock for all of us", Razzy tried to restore a little order to the proceedings, "now let's follow that black fellow and get out of here". After Tails assured them the mainframe would never work again, the troupe set off, following the route Sonic and co. had taken to get to the scene of the reckoning. None spared anything a glance; a shame in reality – future events may have been very different if anyone had identified the occupant of the plexi-glass container that the base contained.

The journey to the mine shaft was fast as silent; each member of the group wrapped up in his or her own thoughts. It was only when the shaft of sunlight became clear at the surface there was any real discussion, and even then it was only to find the best way to get the still unconscious Eggman to the surface.

"Can any of you lot climb?"

"Yes", Knuckles stepped forwards into Chalkie's shadow, the fox-cat grinning as he buffeted the echidna's shoulder.

"Right, 'ere's how we'll do it; you go ahead an' to the side o' me and support the head, I'll take the body weight". The echidna looked a little perturbed at this, weighing things up in his mind.

"Sure you can manage it; that's a lot of weight to support".

"Heh, I've done heavier; Jess, just like old times gal". The mouse looked up at her former guild mate and smiled,

"You old rogue; just get a bit of a head-start first". The crossbreed nodded and looked back to where Knuckles was already half a body length up; unsheathing his claws again, Chalkie rolled his eyes heavenwards as he always did when embarking on a climb.

"Thank ye daddy" he muttered under his breath as the claws sank into the soft earth and the Mobian pulled himself up, the unconscious obese man proving little problem to the phenomenal strength of the fox-cat. As he climbed, he left his longer bushy tail swinging; just before it pulled itself out of reach, Jess ran at the wall and leapt, gripping onto the appendage and hanging on like grim death as she was pulled upwards. Tails, Rouge and Razzy took to the air, lifting Amy, Shadow and, after some serious coaxing, Nack into the air; the weasel was adamant that he should remain in the mines as punishment for his crimes. It was hearing this that swayed the balance for Knuckles; he decided that he had to do something about the negativity Seraph's revelations had left behind and there was only one thing he could think of that would do it. _Why is my life destined to be full of embarrassment?_

As he and Chalkie emerged into sunlight and other hands relieved them of the burden of Eggman, the echidna began to put his plan into action. Singling out Tails, the echidna forced a conspiring look onto his face and stood next to the fox.

"Look at all that flat land Tails? Just the place to take the Tornado for a test drive, you wanted to find out the top speed, right?"

"I…" the young genius couldn't have missed the echidna's wink if he'd tried; he wasn't sure what the echidna was up to but trusted his friend, "…never thought of that, good idea. Hey Amy", the rose hedgehog looked over, "fancy going for a serious spin?" Knuckles grinned as he realised Tails would occupy the others; he said he wanted Sonic and Shadow to act a mediums to test the speed and tip the Tornado back over if he decided to take a tumble test. As the two hedgehogs disappeared to find the foxboy's vehicle Knuckles raised his voice.

"Right, there's a truck over there; we'll use it to get this lump of lard to Station Square. Chalkie, care to do the honours?"

"I'd rather dig the grave, but I swore". The cross slung his hated employer over his shoulder and headed off to the truck with the others, the journey not bothering the strong Mobian in the slightest. Once there, the former guild and Knuckles rolled the fat megalomaniac into the back of the vehicle; as Razzy secured him into one of the seats, making sure he'd not go anywhere unless they wanted him to, Knuckles acted; jumping up, the echidna turned on the interior light and in the same action shut the back doors with a resounding clang. Without waiting for explanations he started, hoping he'd have the strength of character to finish what he'd started.

"I need to talk to all of you".

"Okay, Knuckles", Rouge realised this was one of those times when arguing was pointless and decided to make herself comfortable, "what do you want to talk about?"

"I need to tell you a few things, to do with what just happened".

"We already know what just happened", Nack snapped, "I know I shot someone who didn't deserve to die and left his son an orphan, and the man responsible is sat right in front of me". He lapsed back into a broody silence, glaring at the unconscious Eggman as Knuckles toned his voice down.

"I need to tell you that, that you're not the only ones to be hoodwinked by Eggman. I was too". All eyes turned to him, Nacks included, as Razzy spluttered,

"But that's not right; you're Knuckles Echidna; I recognise you from T.V. You've fought against him before and stopped him taking over Station Square, maybe even the world. You're a hero".

"Maybe, but I started out an idiot", Knuckles was just waiting for the comment but it didn't arrive; Rouge apparently was devoting her full attention to what he was saying, "Eggman said your worked helped him build the Death Egg, well, my help let him launch the damn thing". His voice quickened while he still had them in the palm of his hand.

"It was about three years ago and my world caved in on itself. A bloody great metal lump splashed down close to my home and the great egg himself came ashore. I was curious and he told me that a blue hedgehog was coming to invade my land, and Muggins here believed him. Of course, the blue hedgehog was Sonic and from the second he arrived I made his life hell; I stole the Chaos emeralds off him, set traps and robbed rings off him and eventually got into an all-out scrap with him as well. Sonic tried to tell me I was being had several times but I never believed him, I was too thick headed to listen. But eventually Robotnik cast the mask aside and stole something important from me", Rouge could guess precisely what that was but held her tongue; she'd never heard this story from Knuckles before which was surprising enough, but the way he was actually doing himself down to prove his point was against everything she'd ever got used to from the echidna, "Eggman used it to launch the Death Egg and could have held the world to ransom. I had to ask Sonic to help me get it back and he did it; we did it. I've held that in for all this time; Sonic's got too big a heart to embarrass me by telling it, so I've had to say it". At this point, the echidna moved over to Nack and put a hand, a hand that could deliver a punch enough to fell even Metal Sonic, on his jacket shoulder. The echidna's voice was soft as he spoke again,

"You're not the only one to make a mistake".

_That took guts, and he did it for us, for them_; Rouge looked on this new side of Knuckles in wonderment; he'd never admitted to having a flaw before in all the time she'd known him – she'd pointed them out often enough, but he never admitted them. Nack sniffled as he put one of his own hands on the echidna's glove, taking reassurance in the shared sense of victimisation by the same man. When he was sure the weasel was feeling better within himself, Knuckles removed his paw and spoke to them all again.

"I made a stupid mistake that literally nearly cost the Earth and put unknown lives in danger. I decided to learn from this and look at me now", he spread his arms wide, "I've saved the world more than once and I'm now good friends with Sonic, rather than enemies. That would never have happened if it hadn't been for Eggman. What you do next is up to each of you, but remember this; don't let this get to you – learn from it and grow stronger and look what you've gained; I bet none of you would have ever have known each other if it hadn't been for the guild?" Rouge turned away; that had been almost too much; the emotion behind Knuckles' normally taciturn voice was overpowering and nearly moved her to tears. It had already worked on Razzy, but then he had always had a soft heart.

"So what do we do now?" That had been Nack; she smiled as she realised his speech must have done some good as the weasel's voice wasn't as bitter as before. The guardian stifled a chuckle as he answered,

"Well the first thing we're doing is getting back to Station Square, then we're checking you lot in for a check-up; I want to make sure you're all okay before unleashing you out on the world again".

"Watch it boy, or you'll be the one needing a check up" came Chalkie's low rumble before Jess piped up,

"Pay no attention to him, he's all talk; wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was after one of us". The echidna nodded as Chalkie used his unusual tail to buffet the mouse's flank before heading to the doors again.

"I'll get the others ready to go; can you drive this thing Rouge?"

"Does Amy like clobbering things?"

"Whatever batgirl"; hopping to the floor he waved at the Tornado as it shot across the floor of the scrubland, two smaller blurs keeping pace with the light blue bullet. As he tried to catch the attention of his racing friends, he failed to look up – in failing to look up, he failed to see the familiar silhouette of an egg-shaped vehicle making it's slow, steady way across the mid-afternoon skyline, piloted by a silent arbiter who's life revolved around the paying off of grudges and debts.

The journey back was a lot less frenetic that the journey there; Tails led the way in the Tornado as Rouge, with Shadow sat in the front in case anything happened to her while she was driving. Each vehicle had one of Tail's radios in it so Amy could tell Rouge the way to go as the journey wore on. Knuckles made to doze off in the back seat before Sonic's voice made him peel open a reluctant eye. The blue hedgehog had a curious look on his face as he regarded his back seat companion.

"So what's the deal with sending us off to test the Tornado's speed then rad?"

"I wanted to get Eggman secured ASAP and I knew having you there wouldn't help, so Tails and I conspired to take you out of the picture". The echidna rolled away from the hedgehog and shut his eyes determinedly. _Fine, don't say I didn't give you a chance though_; Sonic moved into 'annoy' mode as he realised Knuckles was trying to hide something.

"Knuccckkkkkkllllleeeeessss…" Silence.

"Ohhh Knuccccckkkkkkkkllllllleeeeeesssss…" Still silence, but the echidna had his teeth clenched and his hands over his ears, trying to block out the irritatingly high pitched voice. _Wow, determined; okay, onto plan B_; Sonic gave a wicked grin and poked the guardian sharply in the ribs.

"You've got a death-wish!" Knuckles exploded, cheeks flaming and eyes wild as he reached over to throttle the blue hero; Sonic fended him off as he laughed,

"Tell me Knuckles, or I'll say your name really loud and annoyingly every ten seconds and poke you in the ribs if you try to cover your ears. Come on, talk to me, it couldn't have been that bad unless", his face fell and his eyes started to tear up theatrically, "you, you proposed to Rougggghhhh!"

"Death-wish granted!" Knuckles had had enough of this; he had split his dirty secret once today and he didn't need to be tormented about it. He wasn't holding hard enough to choke off the air completely but it was enough to get Sonic worried.

"Uncle, uncle", Sonic choked as he tapped out.

"No way, not this time". Amy turned to look at the childish pair with a fiendish glower in her eyes.

"Don't make me come back there", she said threateningly before Tails cut in,

"Yeah Knuckles, loosen up a bit", the guardian made to complain about this victimisation before he heard the rest of the fox's sentence, "if Sonic dies it'll mean we'll have to fill in a lot of paperwork, and I hate paperwork". Glancing at his friend's purpling face the echidna snorted and dropped him.

"You were lucky".

"Lucky my butt", amazingly Sonic smiled as he heaved in a breath, "I'm almost immune to chokeholds; Amy's been training me so they barely work any more".

"I wasn't even trying".

"Probably not, but come on, spill", the hedgehog decided to try the puppy-eyes, "what was it?" Much as he was tempted to resume the murder attempt the guardian realised it was hopeless; Sonic was almost impervious to threats, death glares and other forms of intimidation and in this mood would probably make good on his earlier promise; better to get it over with now.

"I…I, er, I told them about, er, about how we, first, you know, the Death Egg bit…"

"The Death Egg", Sonic was agog, "you told them that?"

"Yeah, I said that Eggman had tricked me into fighting you", the echidna looked up with a crookedly embarrassed grin, "I said they weren't the only ones who'd been had by him in the past". Tails finished the turn he was making and spoke up.

"That was a brave thing to do; do you think it worked?"

"Not sure yet, but I'm not doing it again, that's for certain". Sonic grinned as he settled back down in his seat.

"I'm pretty sure you won't have to, but", he paused and thought for a second, "you, er, you never told Rouge that before, did you?"

"Do I have the word 'schmuck' tattooed on my forehead; I wouldn't give her that sort of ammo in a month of Sundays. It was just that, they all needed something to pick them up and that was all I could think of". A paw slapped itself onto the echidna's forehead as Sonic hollered,

"Quick Tails, get to the hospital; I think Knuckles is having an attack of, I shudder to say it, compassion. He needs urgent attention now". The guardian shoved the hand aside and snarled,

"I cold have told them a thing or two about you, you know?" Sonic gave a victory pose and smirked,

"Yeah right; there's nothing you could say about me that's on a par with that", Sonic then stopped joking for a minute as he saw the hurt look Knuckles gave him, "but Amy's right; that took a lot of bottle to do and I'm impressed".

"I'm flattered, now shut up and let me sleep". Huffing and shooting off a last death glare, Knuckles rolled over again and let his eyes drift closed, sleep was coming, oh yes…something exploded in his side and he heard Sonic's giggle.

"Die hedgehog!"

As echidna and hedgehog duelled in the back seats and Amy leant back to try and stop them beating each other to pulp, everyone missed a most spectacular, all out, no-holds-barred internal war. Tails was literally being torn in two; he had been fighting to keep a lid on his internal volcano from the second his elder brother had made the boast of Knuckles having nothing on him. The desire to shout out his discovery for the whole world to hear had almost swept straight over any resistance he'd had in place and he'd been desperately trying to halt the tide at the same time as drive a motor vehicle. He'd long since lost his poker face as the battle had spread to engulf his expressions; he reckoned he probably looked like someone in the middle of a desperate attack of gastroenteritis. It wasn't going to be long before they noticed, but he'd almost managed to force the devilish genie back into its bottle, just a few more seconds…

"You alright Tails?" Glancing over he could see Amy was looking a little concerned at his expression. Giving a last great heave with his self-control, he managed to shove the cork into the bottle top and compose himself into speaking coherently.

"Yes", he ironed his face straight again and looked at her steadily; he daren't look back to where Knuckles was trying to escape Sonics' half-nelson; one flicker of blue and he'd crack completely, "yeah, I'm fine, I just…had a sneezing attack and was trying not to sneeze all over the place. Now do me a favour", he jerked his head backwards and frowned, "sort that pair out". The pink hedgehog grinned and rubbed her hands together,

"My pleasure"; Tails gave his full attention back to the road as he heard mingled pleas of innocence, insanity and mercy in equal parts as Amy muscled in on the contest in the back. This was hopeless; he was nearly at breaking point with this awful, but oh so funny, knowledge and very soon it was just going to batter and bludgeon its way out of him, whether he wanted it to or not.

It was late, very late, when both vehicles finally made it back to Station Square; by mutual agreement over the radios, all ten of the Mobians present had decided to hand Eggman over to the authorities right away, but they had a special twist on the ideas for the reward money. The dictator had woken up from his fear-induced faint and had awoken into a place of poor lighting with a growling engine audible and surrounded by four people who wanted him either dead or at the very least, in more discomfort than he was in at the minute. His first complaint had been answered by Nack, who had slugged him in the jaw and used the remaining half of the human's moustache to bring them virtually nose to nose.

"I said I'd show you a fate worse than death if Seraph didn't; say another word and I'll make good on my promise". Unsurprisingly considering the mask of cold fury confronting him, Eggman had acquiesced to this request impeccably, barely raising a peep until he heard the voice of Rouge come in from the front; it was muffled by the gap between cab and trailer but still clear.

"We'll be in Station Square in about an hour guys; we'll decide where to go from there". Eggman bowed his bald head and took a deep breath; it was one of those horrible things that you simultaneously didn't want to find out and were desperate to know.

"What", he began, nearly quailing as four hating gazes smashing into him, "what are you going to do with me?"

"We had a discussion about it, then voted", it was the mouse who was speaking, her sky blue eyes clouded with distaste, as though the human was something she'd found on the bottom of her shoe, "it was close; Chalkie and Nack here", she indicated the weasel as the light glinted off his single fang, making it look like a shining dagger as its owner resisted the urge to bury it Eggman's neck and Jess continued, "were all for leaving you dead in a ditch somewhere, but we decided to hand you in instead". Eggman breathed a tiny sigh of relief;_ at least I've got the chance to escape later on_, but they hadn't finished yet; the rooster clucked maliciously as he looked up from the paper he was writing on.

"You'll be handed in anonymously with a single letter explaining that your most recent scheme involved the kidnap and forced imprisonment of five individuals…"

"What!" He couldn't believe he was hearing this, "but I never…"

"Seraph took the rap fer 'nough of your dirty dealin'", Chalkie shoved the human in the chest, forcing him back into the seat he'd almost leapt up from, "time fer you t' repay the favour". The fox-cat let his rooster friend continue,

"…with a plan to test the advent of mind control on these test subjects. The scheme was foiled by some third party and they decided to deliver you into the justice of the Station Square police department. There, that should do it", Razzy finished composing the letter and approached the restrained man. Eggman growled as he pinned the letter to the ample chest before stepping back, admiring his handiwork.

"Nice one Razzy; where'd you learn to write so neatly?"

"I'll explain a little later, but now Nack, why don't you do the honours?" Something fast moved in Eggman's peripheral vision but before he could focus on it, he fell into darkness once more.

"Damn that felt good". The weasel rubbed his knuckles as he surveyed the results of his punch; the obese form sagged forwards against the seat restraints, in Lala land once more.

"Still got it eh Nack?"

"You bet", the weasel faced the other former guilders present before returning to his seat; as he buckled his belt he paused at Chalkies' soft tones.

"Somethin' on your mind mate?" Nack gave an ironic smile,

"Plenty of things".

"Anything in particular?"

"No, not really", this wasn't strictly true but Nack decided to play it down, "just wonderin' what to do with meself next, after we drop this slime off at the clink".

"I think I'll answer that", Jessie stood as tall as was it possible for a mouse to stand, "we're all going back to my place; I've got a bottle of Old Moby that's been chilling in the fridge for over a week. We'll have a drink and something to eat, and then go from there, right?" Jess was nervous about this; they had all been through a terrible ordeal together, they would need each other's support to pull through.

"I'll go fer that Jess", her heart beat again as Chalkie stepped forwards and his massive paw cast hers in shadow as he laid it atop the mouse's. Razzy clucked his assent and to the relief of all, Nack smiled for the first time since they'd been released as he completed the quartet of hands, though his mind strayed to the shape he had felt in the inside of his jacket and what it could mean; he'd need privacy to extract it.

"Right, one thing though", the other three looked up at him as he grinned, "we invite the others as well".


	20. Vindication

Isaac Rowland

Chapter 18 – Vindication.

It had been a quiet night; there was nothing around for the desk sergeant to deal with at all. Blowing the steam from his black coffee he took a hefty swig, grimacing as the bitter liquid forced its way down his throat; he hated the taste but it was the only way he'd ever survive the night shift awake. The fear of what his superiors would do if they caught him asleep at the desk drove him to it…he'd heard the stories of what had happened to poor Kacobsson when he'd tried to sneak in a quick forty winks and shuddered at the memory. Not for nothing was the chief known as a tough old bird; that Mobian matriarch had probably been in the force longer than he'd been alive but, instead of getting older from the pressure of work, the crane seemed to simply get harder, like an aged oak resisting the advent of time. He'd had a few conversations with her; mostly one way when he was being grilled in her office, but he had managed to prove she had a large family to support and, as she had confided to him, once you've had chicks, criminals are nothing. Well, he didn't know about the chicks part, but his own daughter had just hit the terrible twos, so he guessed he could sympathise. As he reached for his coffee again, the doors of the station front blew open, something large crashed down away from the desk and his tranquil night was promptly broken beyond repair.

As other officers began to appear from the nooks and crannies of the station, the desk sergeant approached the fallen, groaning missile; it was certainly alive, but he couldn't tell if it was a threat from here. A whisper passed around to get the boss herself as the man got to within touching distance; it was a human he was certain, albeit a particularly large and fat one, but it had a sack of some kind over its head. Summoning his courage and knowledge of procedures that had been drilled into him during his training periods, the sergeant reached forwards and pulled the sack off just as a commanding voice rang out.

"If there isn't a very good reason for dragging me out here at this time of night, it won't just be heads rolling", shouldering her way to through the crowd, Chief Inspector R J Crane came face to back with the desk sergeant for the evening; in her traditional authoritarian voice she demanded,

"What have you got there sergeant?"

"It appears someone decided to give us an early present chief", before she could reprimand him for time-wasting the human moved aside, allowing the whole station to see the face of an unconscious Dr Eggman revealed. Crane herself was as shocked as the rest of them, but was one of the first to recover.

"Any idea who, who brought him here?"

"No chief", a voice from the back spoke up bravely, "he was just thrown in from outside".

"Hang on, there's a note". The sergeant hefted himself upright, offering the scrap of paper to his superior; Crane analysed it and quickly saw that whoever had delivered the madman to them wanted to remain unknown:

_Add five counts of kidnap and six counts of murder to his resume. We'll give evidence later through the post. Give the reward to charity – it's blood money to us._

"What next chief?"

"What do you think", the crane scrunched up the paper and threw it effortlessly into the nearest bin, "get him down to the most secure cell we've got and call the papers; we'll make an announcement tomorrow. Oh, and unless anyone wants latrine duty for the next month, there was no note, right?"

"Sure thing chief", dozens of voices, both human and Mobian, announced in unison; coming from Chief Crane, that wasn't a threat, it was a promise.

"Damn, that felt good".

"Just wish I could have done it Chalkie". The fox-cat smiled down at the mouse as the pair of them hurried to the stationary form of the Tornado; the driver was listening intently to the radio as the two approached and leant over as he heard doors being opened.

"Drop him off okay?"

"Never better; how are the others?"

"Just heard Rouge and Shadow dropped the truck off and they and the rest are waiting in the lobby of your apartment. From what Razzy told me", Tails' face lit into a smile, "he's worried about Nack; apparently there's a pretty receptionist and he hasn't made a move yet. Don't suppose you'd care to comment on that?" Old memories burned through both the fox's passengers as he started his car up.

"Yeah, he usually has women falling at his feet, lucky sod", Chalkie gave a wistful sigh, "I was never's lucky with the ladies as 'im". Jess raised an eyebrow between providing Tails with directions,

"Present company excluded I hope?"

"Uh, oh yeah, you were okay". Tails' imagination may have overacted a little here as Jess caught the look that flashed across his face and swiftly purged him of improper thoughts.

"Not like that you filthy-minded urchin", the mouse chided with a smile on her face, "Chalkie and I did most of our guild missions together; he was the brawn and I was the speed and, in a pinch, the brains as well".

"You'll have to tell me more, you all will", Tails gave a sideways glance, "talking will help you all get over this".

"You'll hear it kid, we owe you'n your friends that much", Chalkie's voice infiltrated through the car, "and you miss, I could do more'an just act tough".

"Really, I never saw it". Jess smirked at her former partner as she instructed Tails the way to go; or at least she did until she felt a paw on top of her head.

"Guess you don't remember this then?" Chalkie gently began to scratch the mouse's ears with his large fingers, causing Jess to collapse bonelessly in her seat.

"You ch,cheat", she managed to gasp with her last effort before her body overrode her mind; it decided it absolutely loved its ears being fondled like this and it wasn't about to let her mind stop the pleasure to prove a ridiculous point, "ahh, don't stop, a little lower". Tails watched the mouse squirm and nodded at the fox-cat,

"Er, hate to break this up, but I kinda need to know the way and…"

"Oh all right, but I won that one". Chalkie stopped scratching and, after a second or two, Jess recovered her marbles and spoke quickly,

"Next right, third on the left and it's the fourth complex on the left after that", she fumbled for her keys as she sighed, "better get ready to let you lot in; I just hope I've got enough food for everyone".

When all three entered the lobby, it was Rouge who saw them first.

"Hey, did it go alright?"

"Perfect, not a hitch".

"Great, now could you please let us in; I'm dying for something to drink". Jess gave a tinkling laugh as she twirled her key ring round her finger.

"You'll need these then", she raised her voice, "right guys, follow me". The mouse led the way up the stairs, reaching her apartment as she scanned her barcode into, she noticed, the newly repaired scanner keypad. Nack saw the edge of her lips curl up and cleared his throat a little, fingering the shape he'd managed to outline beneath the leather of his jacket.

"Ah, yeah, sorry about that; that was me", he explained as the mouse rolled her eyes, "well, I was a bit suspicious and had to take a look; it was the fact I did that I did that started this whole ball rolling. Now hurry up", the weasel did his best to act a desperation he didn't really feel, "I'm breaking my neck for a slash". Jess shook her head and opened the door, allowing the weasel to streak past like purple lightning.

"I know where it is thanks". There was a slam as the others looked on, stupefied by the weasel's uncharacteristic speed. Jess stepped inside and gestured, her voice a little uncertain as she opened the door fully.

"Ah, come on in".

As soon as the door to the bathroom slammed shut behind him, Nack let the tension drop from his shoulders like an uncomfortable cloak; he was alone at last in a private place. He'd need to be as well; he thought he recognised the outline that was beneath his jacket and he wanted to find out if he was correct in peace. Swiftly crossing the room, the weasel sat carefully on the throne and hesitantly examined the inside of his suspicious jacket; yes, he was right. There was a slit cut in the lining of the leather and, as he slid his fingers inside the cut, felt the crinkling of paper under his grip. _I thought so; what did you leave me this time?_ As he carefully extracted the mystery paper, he realised it wasn't a sheet of paper at all, it was an envelope. The weasel smiled sadly as he recognised the neat hand on the front:_ Nack t Weasel. Read this in private._ Slitting the top of the envelope and pulling free the piece of paper, a letter, Nack began to read Seraph's final words to him.

Tails knew it was coming and there was going to be nothing he could do to stop it; he could only delay it for a little while longer. He helped Jess and Amy plate up whatever savouries the mouse had handy and then toddled back into the main living room, where Knuckles and Chalkie were rearranging furniture under the eye of Razzy, the rooster quickly analysing and calculating the arrangement that would give maximum floor space. As everyone settled down and waited for the weasel to reappear, Tails passed his plate of paprika crisps over to Shadow and spoke in as calm a voice as he could manage.

"Right, I just want to be sure", _I'll gonna explode_, "is there any sort of business that might occur now?" _Say no, for the love of God say no!_ There was a swapping of glances as everyone tried to make sense of this odd request, and the fact that the foxboy's face seemed to be imploding.

"Umm, no, not that I can think of", Rouge looked at the kit squarely, "are you feeling okay Tails?" _I will be in a second – hold it in – I can't; head for the hills folks, the dam's about to break!_

"Yeah", _oh no oh no oh no, stop speaking now_, "you've been acting weird since we hit Seraph's base; what gives?" _I do!_

"Just, just needed to be sure, we're all friends here now". Sonic raised an eyebrow quizzically; that was it.

Tails suddenly erupted, going from vertical to horizontal in seconds at the force of the laughter he had bottled up for so long screamed out of him in a torrent. The fox was scarlet in the face; looking up through teary eyes he saw the others were equally confused and concerned but he didn't care; he had to let this out of him or he'd simply have spontaneously exploded. Tails pounded the carpeted floor, heaving with silent laughter as he ran out of air, shaking violently as Amy shouted at him in concern.

"What's wrong?" He couldn't answer, there was still too much laughter flowing out of him to allow a coherent response. He laughed when he had the breath to and gasped for air when he hadn't, but he just let it all course through and out of him.

"Should we call the hospital?" Amy asked in a bit of a panic, knowing how unlike Tails this was, but she was waved down by Rouge and Razzy.

"No, I think he's just hysterical", the bat answered, smiling as a tributary of molten laughter glanced her, "I just want to hear what the joke was".

"You, you were right", Tails managed to choke out, pointing a single finger at Sonic as he writhed on the floor, trying to get to his hands and knees; before his elder brother could ask he gasped again, "w,worse than Miles". He shattered into laughter again as Sonic's face suddenly dropped straight through the floor and panic drained the strength from his limbs as he understood what Tails was laughing at.

"No, no you can't…", he crawled from where he had been laid on the floor to try and reach the ailing kit; he couldn't let him speak, he'd die from shame, "don't you dare…" It was the worst thing he could have said; realising he was being stalked, Tails took the deepest breath he could manage and sat upright, pointing a deadly digit at Sonic and smiling mischievously as he cried in triumph.

"MAURICE!"

The scream that shook the building, raced around the Earth and echoed throughout the space-time continuum was Sonic's own scream; he'd had his heart ripped out by his own family. The blue hedgehog sank onto his knees, gripping his face as though he wanted to rip it off and assume a new identity. _That's it, I'm ruined; if there is a God, let him strike me down now_; of course, there was no answer and Sonic's torment was only just begun.

"Sonic…Maurice…Hedgehog", it was Knuckles who was speaking; through his fingers Sonic saw the echidna looking like all his birthdays had come at once, "that's, different".

"Yeah, it, it could have been worse" Shadow had a strange smile on his face; it was either that or join Tails on the floor in pieces. Rouge joined in on the act, trying desperately to keep her face straight as she avoided looking at the cringing Sonic.

"Yes, I can think of worse, like, like, oh forget it!" She looked at Knuckles; their eyes met and reflected the internal laughter back to each other and they both cracked up; their screams of laughter broke down Shadow and Tails again and soon everyone was in bits; Knuckles fell off the chair he was sitting on and pointed at the blue wonder,

"And, and to think yohohohohou made fun of meheeheeheee; oh that's priceless, Tails I love you foreveahahahaha". In the centre of this maelstrom Sonic hid his face and beautifully red cheeks, whispering dire prophesies to himself,

"That's it; I'm over and finished; goodbye and goodnight; I'm going under for the third time; I regret nothing; I…" he paused at a hand on his shoulder and found himself looking up at Amy – the pink hedgehog was smiling down at him and Sonic took refuge in that beatific smile from the storm of mockery that battered him. Leaning down, though it wasn't really necessary, it was doubtful you'd have been able to hear a gunshot in that room at the minute, she whispered in his ear.

"I think it's a beautiful name". For the first, but, as things turned out, not the only time in his life, Sonic found himself smiling back at her; a worried and drawn smile it was true, but a smile nonetheless.

"It, it's not so bad Sonic", Razzy appeared to be one of the first to get over the bout of hysterics, "how do you think I dealt with the name of Erasmus; let them laugh, but remember they'll get over it eventually".

"Yeah, they will but I won't", the hedgehog moaned, "I can't believe it; Tails, you are a dead fox", he shook his fist at the gaping fox as he tried to recapture his breath, "how'd you find out?"

"It was on Seraph's computer", the explanation was gasped and drowned in the laughter that was all around but Sonic grasped it as though it had been shouted right in his ear, I saw in on his copy of your passport; heehee, Maurice". Bodies all over the place, howling and screaming all around and an aura of general carnage; it was into this scene of bedlam that Nack rejoined the proceedings.

The weasel had been sure he'd had nothing left in him, the actions of the previous eight or so hours had left him completely drained of all emotion, but reading the letter, then re-reading it several times, had put him right through the emotional wringer. He'd felt first vindication for his actions, then shame, then confusion, then disbelief and finally pity, both for the son of Seraph and, to a lesser extent, for himself. Now he wasn't sure exactly what to think, but though his emotions were in a muddle, his mind was completely crystal clear; he was not going to be a prat for a second time and try and hide this. As he unbolted the bathroom door and prepared himself for what he had planned the weasel was almost blown backwards by the overpowering sense of happiness and hysterics that swept down the small hall to greet him. Despite the seriousness of his next task Nack felt a smile tug at his lips; with that much good-nature flowing around it was impossible not to react to it. It seemed to be coming from the living room he'd entered what felt like a lifetime ago; even from here Nack could see pandemonium reigned. Entering the room, Nack had to rub his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real – all logic had been turned on its head. Sonic, Amy and Razzy were off in one corner, the blue hedgehog apparently leaning on the other two for support while everyone else was howling with laughter, even Knuckles and Shadow and those two had seemed to Nack to be as serious as cancer. Manoeuvring through the organic debris, the weasel helped Jess upright from where she was partially propped up against one side of her sofa.

"Someone start without me; never knew Old Moby was as strong as that". The mouse fell forwards against him, still in tears of laughter as she tried to communicate with her friend.

"S,sorry Nack, but ihehehet's so funny", she took a deep breath and tried again, "Sonic's so cool, but heheheis middle name's Mahahahahahaha…" The weasel rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh, smiling broadly now as his friend infected him with the beginnings of a bad case of hysterics.

"Come on Jess, you nearly had it, Ma-what?"

"Muh, Muh, Maurice!" The mouse held his gaze for a second before setting herself off again, Nack letting her slide from his arms as he gaped open-mouthed.

"No way", he guessed she tried to nod at him and he winced, "ouch!" It was funny, but in the present climate it couldn't destroy Nack like it had the others. Realising it was useless to try and say anything to the lot of them now he decided to make the most of it. Picking his way to the vacated couch, he sat back and lifted some crisps from a bowl to the side of him. Giving a sniff, a smile broke out on his rugged face;_ umm, paprika, my favourite._

It took time, several failed attempts and the threat of the Piko Piko hammer, but eventually everyone managed to get themselves under control and Sonic stopped blushing.

"Ohhh, my sides hurt", Knuckles heaved himself into one of the twin comfy chairs Jess had in her front room and flopped into it, taking deep, slow breaths as his body tried to re-oxygenate itself, "oh boy, it was worth all this just to hear that; Tails, you are a genius".

"A genius with a sore jaw", the kit let his eyes rove around and noted Sonic sighing at the lot of them, "I'm really, really sorry Sonic, but I couldn't keep it in – I tried, I really did". His older brother set his face to stone and glared at him,

"You think you're sorry now; just wait 'til I get you home", having made his promise, the hedgehog gave a resigned shake of his head, "oh well, it wasn't going to stay secret forever, but please, I beg of all of you, don't tell anyone about this. I really hate that name".

"Not a chance; I've waited years for something like this and I'm not giving it up, but", the echidna offered a compromise; "I'll keep it down, for now" he finished ominously.

"'When you've got friends and neighbours you're the richest man in town'", Sonic ran a hand down his face as he sat on the sofa, "yeah right, but I suppose there's some good in all of this", he favoured his little brother with a basilisk glance, "I can now empathise fully with you". The fox rolled his eyes as Jess dusted herself off and headed for the fridge, calling out behind her,

"Chalkie, check the cabinet behind you for glasses, that wine should be just about ready by now". Nack stiffened; this was his chance to make amends for all time; he took several fortifying breaths as his friend reappeared with a bottle of red in her hand and a corkscrew held in her tail. She was just about to start opening the best bottle of wine she owned, when the weasel's voice stopped her.

"Jess, hang fire", all eyes turned to Nack as he stood up and faced them all, his face clear of all emotion as he fingered the note in his hands, "I got somethin' to say first".

He had a silent audience in front of him and was aware of the first prickling of stage fright as cold sweat trickled down his back. His breathing was quick and light and he was beginning to regret even bringing this up; no, he gritted his teeth – he'd kept a secret once and it had come out in the end and nearly destroyed him. He wouldn't let himself make that mistake again; he owed it both to himself and the one he had slandered to make amends now.

"I've got somethin' here that Seraph left me, or at least, his son did", he brought the slip of paper forwards and let the envelope it had been encased in flutter to the floor, "he left it in a slit in me jacket lining – he wanted me to be able to read it in private an' I just did, but", he flicked a glance to Knuckles, drawing on the echidna's earlier action as a source of strength, "I think you should all hear it". He began to recite, in his mind's eye imagining a leather gloved hand scribing the thick black letters before him:

**Nack.**

**You may keep this note private or you may share it with the others, I leave you that choice. If all has gone according to plan, I have settled my grudge with Dr Julian Ivo Robotnik and have been vindicated in the eyes of the guild. This is an explanation of things you were not aware of and I did not have time to explain earlier.**

**Primarily Nack, you did not kill my father – you put out of its misery a puppet made flesh. Robotnik's machine reduced him to little more than a weapon that could, and did, kill on its master's command. You took a dangerous weapon out of the hands of a madman and for that, you should be congratulated. I was there that night and saw the shot; I knocked you out and escaped with my father's body. I ripped out the mind unit and cremated his remains as our tradition dictates. I have adopted his mask and name because I have forgotten my own.**

**You asked how I survived and I told you the truth, I did not – the bullet that ended my father's suffering also ended mine. As Sonic and possibly Knuckles unintentionally estimated, I am already dead. I feel nothing; I understand what emotions are as concepts and as distant memories, but have not felt them since seven years ago. Like my father, I have become a desensitised 'machine' but unlike him, I take orders from no-one but the past.**

**In the seven years I was hiding and training, I accumulated a large number of grudges and debts; now I am able to, I must pay them off, one by one. The actions of the last month have settled my primary grudge against the man responsible for my father's demise; Robotnik used his mind control technology and manipulations of the guild to destroy my father, I used the same technology to manipulate the guild and destroy Robotnik and pay the grudge off in full. I have no other purpose save the goal of paying off the past.**

**I bear no grudge against you Nack; live your life how you choose for I shall take no further part in it – what you did took great courage and, unlike myself, you had a conscience to plague you afterwards.**

**Farewell, from both of us.**

**Seraph.**

**P.S. Tell Amy Rose blood is considered a delicacy, but must be correctly prepared to prevent the spread of perenatal diseases.**

Nack finished reading and let his arms fall to his sides, waiting for a reaction similar to the one he had suffered. It hadn't sunk in straight away, he hadn't expected it to, but eventually Chalkie spoke up, the fox-cat bowing his head as he intoned solemnly,

"So it ends then; the guild has finished its business forever".

"Yeah, yeah it has", Nack removed his hat and gestured at Jess; silently, the mouse filled and passed around beakers of wine until every hand held a glass full of the red liquid; when he was ready, the weasel spoke again, "ladies and gentlemen, a toast; to Seraph, for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect his child, and to Seraph for settin' the record straight with all of us". Nack raised his glass upwards, the movement echoed by nine others as the toast was made and then sealed by a sip of the red wine. It really was the best red of the decade; a fine, fruity vintage that slipped down the throat rather than being swallowed, but to the ten drinking it, it could have been wine or water – all that mattered was the meaning behind it. In the secluded shelter of that one apartment, ten Mobians raised glasses to commemorate what had gone before, and the good reasons behind the actions. As the silent vigil ended, Amy daintily wiped her lips and just asked quietly.

"Can someone fill me in here; what's a perenatal disease?"

"A disease transmitted through blood-to-blood contact", Tails piped up, "something like Hepatitis". The pink hedgehog grimaced and quickly put her glass down, wrinkling her nose as the red wine suddenly became a second, even redder liquid in her mind.

"Yeesh, I didn't really want to know that; I'll never drink red again". Knuckles toyed idly with his glass before nodding slowly,

"I know what you mean, it's not exactly the most pleasant image I can imagine", when the echidna realised he had an interested and curious audience, he expanded his theory, "we managed to figure out what species Seraph was, or is". Nack pricked his ears,

"Really, what was it; we had a bit of a bet on this", he indicated the others of the guild as they all leaned in, "well, out with it; what was he, and how did you figure it out?"

"I put it together after Tails saw he had wings; he's a bat".

"A bat", Chalkie scratched the side of his face, frowning, "don' think any of us bet fer that". The others groaned and sighed in agreement before Amy carried on.

"Not just a bat, he's a vampire bat; they've got different wings to Rouge, and from what that letter says different tastes as well". There was a resounding thunk as several glasses of wine hit the tops of tables and Jess sighed,

"The best red of the decade and we can't drink it due to that mental image", she began to gather up the glasses and walked back into the kitchen, searching for a funnel to drain the wine back into the bottle before re-corking it. As she did so, Chalkie took hold of the back of Knuckle's seat and gently lent it backwards until the echidna and he were at eye level. Knuckles squinted up at him,

"You want something?"

"Yeah, if ya don' mind", the fox-cat replaced the chair to its previous position and moved to the front of the seating, dragging one of the smaller tables with him, "was wonderin' if you'd be up fer a little sport?" Knuckles cracked his namesakes and then his neck, having an idea of what Chalkie wanted and liking the sound of it.

"Sure thing", he put his left arm on the table and grinned up at the challenger, "I could use a little exercise". Chalkie grinned like a demon as he locked palms with the echidna and Rouge spoke before the contest started,

"Didn't know you were left-handed Knucks?" He flicked his eyes upwards at her,

"Ambidextrous" he replied before focussing solely on his opponent, measuring the crossbreed up in terms of stamina and strength. Razzy spoke up, acting as sort of a master of ceremonies as his voice hushed all other conversation, including a few impromptu bets.

"Okay, keep it clean and good luck to you both. On the count, one, two and…three!"

For a second it looked like neither had moved but then slow grins of unresolved tension slowly began to creep over the faces of both participants, ropes of muscles bulging out in the biceps and forearms of the arm-wrestlers. The arms themselves didn't move beyond a quiver and Chalkie spoke through gritted teeth,

"You're good". The echidna snorted hard; the fox-cat was strong but maybe he could wear him down a little.

"So're you". Knuckles put on a little extra pressure and felt a slight reward as Chalkie's arm moved marginally towards the table-top, the echidna forcing the issue. Chalkie snarled, his other hand gripping the table hard as he fought to stop Knuckles' advance; bringing more of his strength and power to the fore he managed to stop, and then begin to reverse the trend. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on brows as Chalkie pressed even harder, feeling the echidna's awesome resistance as he strove to get an advantage.

"Wow, Knucks is going all out" Amy whispered to Sonic, watching as Knuckles bared his teeth at his opponent, who echoed the gesture. Sonic observed for a second before replying,

"Yeah, but so's Chalkie", there was still no conclusive movement and he gave a low whistle, "this one's going right to the wire". Jess suddenly appeared at his elbow, the mouse regarding proceedings with awe in her eyes,

"He's not won yet; Chalkie's never had an arm-wrestle go on this long".

"He hadn't met Knuckles before now", Rouge whispered, "ol' Knucklehead's too pig-headed to lose at anything". Despite his best efforts, however, the echidna was slowly losing ground to the fox-cat's strength; fighting every step of the way, arm white hot with cramp and fatigue, the back of the echidna's hand eventually grazed the top of the table and Razzy's keen eyes spotted it.

"Stop, that's it", both competitors relinquished their holds simultaneously, both gasping with exertion and mutual respect.

"No-one pushed me that hard in a long time" Chalkie offered his hand to the panting Knuckles, "put 'er there". Extending his other, unworked hand, the guardian shook before wincing and turning to Jess.

"Got something cold I can put on this", he pointed to his reddened arm, "it's gonna start cramping in a second" he explained as the mouse pointed down the hall.

"Bathroom on the left; put a cold flannel on it". Pushing himself upright, left arm hanging limp by his side, the echidna hugging it to try and keep the blood flowing as, unseen behind him, Rouge's quick mind worked out a solution to a knotty little problem and she sidled off after the guardian, the victorious Chalkie helping to take the attention off her disappearance.

Knuckles was having fun trying to control tap and flannel one handed when he heard the bathroom door open and then close behind him. Darting a glance over his shoulder, he felt a sudden jolt of panic and expectation as he saw Rouge stood right behind him.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all", she quickly countered his arguments as she took the still dry flannel from his right hand and put it under the flow from the cold tap, "so, you feel okay?"

"Yeah, that was a good match".

"I didn't mean that", she began to wring the excess water out of the appliance, "I meant about earlier; you know, in the back of the truck?" Knuckles silently waited for it; he'd been expecting this and now had to see his way through the storm.

"What about it?"

"Was it true?" Knuckles put his responsive hand on his hip,

"Are you calling me a liar?" Rouge echoed his movements, ignoring the wetness of the flannel on the hip of her jumpsuit.

"You know what I meant", she tried a different tack and, possibly for the first time since she'd met him, she dropped her act of sarcasm and aloofness and asked frankly, "did all those things really happen?" The guardian blinked for a second at this uncharacteristic question before shrugging and smiling ironically.

"Yeah, it all happened; didn't you ever wonder how Sonic and I first met?"

"Plenty of times; I thought it had something to do with Eggman, but I didn't think about anything on that sort of scale", she gently laid the flannel on his arm, sponging it down as he closed his eyes, "why'd you say it?"

"If I'm honest, I can't really remember", she looked at the guardian agog and he chuckled a little, "I just heard Nack saying he deserved to be left behind and realised how hard this must have been for him to take. So I thought about it on the climb and realised that was the best way to try and lessen the blow for him", he opened his eyes and looked seriously at her, "don't start with the old 'it's an attack of the dreaded compassion' line; I had enough of that from Sonic in the car".

"That was a very noble thing to do", _huh_; some of his confusion must have shown on his face as she returned his serious look, "I know you Knuckles; you have to guard the M. E. 24/7 and have to be prepared to deal with anything and everything. You never admit to weakness because it undermines your role as guardian – what use is a guardian with weaknesses?"

"But…?"

"I'm just the same; as a spy it's my job to be infallible, but anyway", she took hold of his arm and began to use the same massage she had used on Angel Island after the first fight with Seraph, "you revealed something that undermined you to help someone else, someone in a really bad way; do you know what that means?"

"I'm never going to hear the end of it?"

"Apart from that", she returned the smart talk, just as he had known she would, "it means I owe you some thanks; if you hadn't let Nack and the others in on that little secret this business could have ended a lot worse than it has; I came in here to say this Knuckles", she extended her hand, looking him dead in the eye and speaking sincerely "thank you for everything you did, for me and the guild". Knuckles gripped her hand gently in his massive paw as he grinned,

"Don't mention, hey!" He'd been caught off-guard as she suddenly tugged him forwards; he stumbled right into her and she wrapped her arms and wings around him.

"What are you doing?" He hissed urgently in her ear, face burning up as he writhed to try and escape the unforeseen hold.

"Just evening the score; you held me once so I'm repaying the favour. Besides, you have no idea how much fun it is watching someone with red fur blush". Knuckles, gritting his teeth as he realised he was indeed blushing furiously, gingerly reciprocated the hug, gently stroking her back just as she stroked his dreadlocks.

"You're nuts batgirl, but, I guess that's why I like you". _Did I just say that?_

_Did he just say that?_ Rouge felt her own cheeks heat up as Knuckles' words hit her like none of his punches ever had.

"You're not so bad yourself Knucklehead – you helped me up when I was freaking out over Amy and put me back on my feet", she began to start to loosen her hold as did he, though inside she was singing, "you're a barbarian and a complete hypocrite, but I guess that's part of the charm". He regarded her askew as they parted, a smile on his lips as old and now more comfortable patterns began to reassert themselves.

"Hypocrite?"

"Yeah; you say I'm nuts but I'm not the one sat up in the sky guarding a massive emerald". She shot and scored a point; she left herself open for the three-point retaliation.

"No, but you're the one obsessing about owning said emerald and going to nearly any lengths to get hold of it". _Ooooh, I left myself open for that; back-up, back-up now!_

"No", she smirked as she gave a victory pose, "I'm the one who will own said emerald – you just don't know it yet".

"As I said earlier, you're welcome to try batgirl".

"And I will Knucklehead", she shoved him in the arm before wincing at his sudden sharp intake of breath, "oh, sorry, I forgot that was your bad arm". He gave a pained grin and jerked a thumb at the door.

"I believe you;come on, they'll be missing us by now". As the pair exited the small room and slunk back to the gathering they kept a respectable distance, but of all those present that night, two hearts sang harder than most as more barriers were slowly and inexorably broken down, not by fists and feet, but by understanding and companionship.

"Professor Erasmus?"

"Yes, I'm a university lecturer in the field of Electronics and Systems Design", the rooster clucked at the gawping expressions he was receiving and winked, "though my students think I don't know they call me Razzy behind my back – I wish they'd say it to my face more often though". The rooster looked at Nack,

"And what about you Nack; what have you been up to?" The weasel smiled to highlight his single fang,

"Me, I'm just an odd-job man and jack of all trades – I've done everything from paint fences to hunt for mysterious treasures in some God-forsaken crypt", Knuckles suddenly felt extremely relieved that he'd declined to inform the weasel of the Master Emerald, "I never could settle down to a day job, it just got too boring, so I lived on the road all my life". Sonic decided he could empathise with that sort of life when there was a little pressure in his shoulder. Observing the source, he masked a smile as he realised that Amy had simply nodded off due to the very late hour.

"Shadow", he whispered to try and get the black hedgehog's attention, "Shads; Blackie", he rolled his eyes as Shadow whipped around with red eyes steaming; Sonic pointed at Amy's snoozing form to try and calm the ultimate life-form down, "sorry man; ask Jess if there's somewhere for her to kip". The black hedgehog nodded and left his seat to whisper in the mouse's ear.

"Follow me", she mimed with a paw, speaking slowly to let the hedgehog read her lips; Sonic carefully stood up in a manner that didn't disturb Amy and then slowly slid his arms under her, supporting her head and body as he drew himself upright. Turning cumbersomely round, Sonic followed the mouse into a large bedroom where, from the looks of things, Tails was already dead to the world on the king sized bed.

"Set her down there; they'll sleep until morning".

"If not afternoon", all this talk of time forced Sonic to stifle a yawn as suddenly exertion and tiredness yanked at his body and mind; he gently laid the pink hedgehog onto the soft blanket next to his slumbering brother. As he stood up, he noticed how peaceful she looked, innocent and sweet as she slept in bliss; acting on impulse, he brushed a few of her short spines from her forehead. _Aww, so cute – shut it you; I'm just making sure she won't get bed hair – yeah right, coughlaircough – I'm not listening, lalalala…_ Shaking his head Sonic stood up and exited the bedroom, closing the door as slowly and reverently as a groom would remove the veil from his bride's face.

As the celebrations/commemorations began to wind down, the final event of the evening was resolved away from the warm atmosphere of Jessie Wheatear's apartment. Having ditched the Eggmobile and walked into town in the darkness, Seraph quickly entered his own rented apartment. Having swiftly utilised the material he had lifted from Eggman to ensure his needs would be met in the future, the vampire bat crossed the spartan quarters to a small desk with a small, locked drawer and slipped a very fine chain from under the armour around his neck. This chain clinked as a pair of small keys slipped into Seraph's hand; he used the larger one first to unlock the drawer, and thus avoid the paralysing electric shock that would had been released if the lock had been forced. Pulling it open slowly he extracted the sole item contained within; a small book, bound in dark brown leather and sealed with a stainless steel lock on the front. If people had thought this was extreme security for a diary they would have been mistaken; this book was pure dynamite. With great reverence, Seraph inserted the second, much smaller key into the clasp on the front of the book and clicked it open.

As the book fell neatly open its writer examined the pages, remembering precisely where each article recorded in its musty pages was scribed. Primarily, there was a debt gained; leafing through to an unsullied page of parchment, Seraph took hold of the pen that dangled from the book's side and began to write the newest instalment:

Knuckles Echidna: Location Angel Island.

Debt owed for – Unlawful trespass, property damage and theft.

Once his newest task had been recorded the vampire bat turned back through the increasingly fingered pages, right to the very beginning of the book. To him it was simply a mission completed as he read the passage he had scribed, so long ago:

Dr Julian Ivo Robotnik: Location Unknown.

Grudge earned – Destroying Seraph, manipulation of innocents, orchestration of murder.

It was under this that Seraph wrote six new words:

Grudge settled. Rest in peace Seraph.

17


End file.
